Champion of the Sun: The Spartan Demigod
by Sinisterclown13
Summary: Percy Jackson was born on the day that the Spartan 300 perished. After Ares murders his mother, Percy is taken by Poseidon to Atlantis to hide him from a paranoid Zeus. When Percy is discovered, he is given a "job" so he can live. Percy is happy, but how will he react when he meets a certain Hesperid? Perzoe. First ever story, so it's not my best work. Mediocre at best.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Rewrite for Rangers of Apollo! I hope you guys like it. Please leave reviews for plot ideas and other things like pairings, etc. Just thought I would let you know. Enjoy! This will start in Ancient Greece, by the way.  
**

**3****rd**** Person POV**

A woman ran through the forest. Her chest was heaving, and her breaths were ragged. She felt like her lungs would explode and her chest would split open if she kept sprinting. Her legs burned as if they were lit on fire. Her calves screamed for rest, but the woman wouldn't allow it. She continued to stumble through the forest, tripping over tree roots and shoving her way past low branches. She was so close. The woman was almost safe. Almost.

The woman came to the edge of the forest, finding the beach she had been so desperately looking for. She gasped for air and her knees buckled. She collapsed face-first onto the beach, accidently dropping a small bundle that she carried in her arms.

The woman was completely depleted of energy, and she knew she didn't have much time left. She could hear the yells of her pursuers getting progressively more audible. The woman weakly scooped the bundle into one of her arms, as she frantically dragged her entire body forward with one hand, nearing the ocean. The voices were so near that she could hear the words distinctly, which only inspired her to move quicker.

"Find that demigod! I don't care if you have to burn down the forest to find that sea spawn! Find him!" A gruff voice shouted.

The woman reached the ocean. "Poseidon," she whispered, "Save our boy."

With that, she placed the baby so the incoming waves could touch him. Crunching leaves and snapping twigs alerted her from behind. She rolled over on her back to see three men. The one in front held a massive broadsword, and was wearing full, Greek-style armor. He was abnormally tall, and his eyes seemed to burn with a raging fire, and radiated power. His mouth quirked into a sadistic smile as if he had been waiting a long time to do this. The woman knew this man was divine. She knew her life would end soon, but she need to save her son.

"Poseidon, please," The woman prayed quietly, "Help our Perseus."

The two men behind the taller one had spears and shields, dressed in armor that covered their entire bodies. Their helms were the regular Greek-style as well, and shielded their faces from view.

The woman stood protectively in between Perseus and the three men, who were approaching slowly, prolonging the woman's time with the living. She put a determined scowl on her face stood defensively.

The tall man laughed and the fire in his eye sockets seemed to grow larger. "You've got guts, mortal, I'll give you that. I see why Poseidon picked you."

The woman attempted to look brave, but she was utterly terrified. "W-Why do want to kill us?"

The tall man sighed deeply, and it sounded sincere. "I'm sorry. I really am. But I follow orders. Lord Zeus ordered me to find and eliminate the boy because of a prophecy that has been spoken by Apollo's oracle. The boy will have the power to topple the gods. Zeus won't allow the boy to live. I'm sorry."

The man stepped forward and before the woman could react, the broadsword was driven through her chest. She felt unimaginable pain, and then the cold release of death. She felt her soul draining from her body as her blood splattered the sandy beach. She collapsed on the ground, exhaling her last breath in the over-world.

The tall man stepped over the woman's lifeless body, sending a silent prayer to Hades. Truthfully, the man felt awful about murdering the two. Sure, he may have been the war god, but he promoted war, not murder. In war, armies clashed and honor was a highly valued attribute in both armies. But what Ares was doing wasn't honorable, in any sense of the word, and he knew it. And he despised it. Every molecule of his being fought against his orders. But he couldn't disobey a direct from the king of the gods. He would be punished severely, possibly kicked off the Olympian Council. Nearly every god voted for the boy's death. The only ones who voted him to live were himself, Hermes, Demeter, Poseidon, and Apollo. Ares couldn't disobey the orders, because not only would he be disobeying Zeus, he would be disobeying seven of the other Olympians. It would be an act of treason. It had to be done. But Ares didn't have to like it. Killing an eleven-month old, defenseless baby? It wasn't righteous. It was cruel.

As Ares stepped forward to the baby, a colossal tidal wave rose on the beach, drawing all the nearby water into it. It loomed treacherously over Ares, like it was threatening to swamp him and drag him off into the ocean. Ares understood what was happening. Poseidon wouldn't let his boy die. Fatal flaw of Poseidon. Loyalty. He wouldn't let his own flesh and blood die without a fight. Ares got the message.

"Take him, Poseidon. You know I didn't want to do this. Keep him hidden. I'll tell Zeus he is dead. I swear on the Styx I won't betray you." Ares said.

Thunder boomed in the distance, solidifying the promise.

The tidal wave lowered, scooping up the bundle and carried him farther out into the ocean. A figure rose from the sea, who then picked up the baby. Ares gazed out at the figure, seeing the familiar emerald eyes filled with hate and grief. His salt and pepper beard and locks of hair seemed to turn even whiter as his gaze fell on his dead mortal lover. His tan arms tightened around the child and Poseidon sent a meaningful look at Ares. Ares nodded in recognition and turned to the two men behind him, who were watching the interaction with awe. Ares didn't even hesitate as he killed them both. He couldn't have witnesses. They were weak-minded mortals who would tell any god the first chance they got. Ares turned back and looked at the sea, but Poseidon was already gone, leaving the sea swirling angrily.

Ares sighed deeply. He knew he had done the right thing, whether the gods were overthrown in the end, or not. He just hoped it was the former.

**Poseidon's POV (3****rd**** Person)**

Poseidon hurried into his palace at Atlantis. He shoved past the throne room doors to find Amphitrite sitting on her throne, next to Poseidon's. Her eyes widened as her eyes landed on the bundle in his arms. She rose slowly from her chair and hustled to her spouse.

Poseidon had a pleading look in his eyes. Amphitrite had absolutely no chance against that look. But she was furious; he was unfaithful. He had found a mortal, instead of being with her. Amphitrite was tired of his traitorous ways when it came to love. There was no way in Hades she would raise that . . . half-breed.

"I won't let you keep him." She stated harshly.

Poseidon's eyes darkened. "Amphitrite, my dear, his family is dead! Zeus wants to kill him! We can't let him out of our sight!"

Amphitrite's face twisted into an expression of pure betrayal and anger. "If you hadn't gone and had a child with another mortal, you wouldn't be in this situation in the first place, Poseidon! Are you not happy with me? Am I not good enough to satisfy you?"

Poseidon's eyes lost all anger and remorse filled them. "Amphitrite, I—"

"Do you know how much it hurts, Poseidon? To be betrayed over and over? To feel like you are inadequate?" Amphitrite inquired.

Poseidon didn't know his wife was hurt this much by his actions. He felt incredibly guilty, like a three-hundred pound weight had just fallen onto his shoulders. His heart felt like lead, the guilt eating away at his insides.

Amphitrite's eyes stung with tears. As soon as they began to leak out of her eyes, a thumb gently brushed them away. Poseidon gazed at her, the sea-green eyes that she loved filled with remorse and tenderness. He leaned in and kissed her softly, before pressing his forehead against hers. He carefully held Perseus in one of his arms.

"Amphitrite, I am so sorry. You're right. I have been a horrible husband and I'm ashamed. I will make it up to you in any way possible. But please, my wife, raise the child with me. Hold him for a moment before you decide." Poseidon said.

Poseidon gently handed Amphitrite the child. As soon she got the baby, she held him close to her chest. He opened his little eyes to reveal familiar sea-green eyes, just like his father's. He had a messy little tuft of jet-black hair on his head, much like his father's. Amphitrite gazed at the child with affection as she softly ran her index finger along his cheek. The small boy moved his tiny hand out of the blanket he was bundled in, and gripped Amphitrite finger tightly.

The small child let out a delighted squeal and giggled as he played with Amphitrite's finger.

Amphitrite found herself smiling lovingly at the boy. "What is his name?"

"Perseus." Poseidon replied quietly as he wrapped an arm around Amphitrite and pulled her close to his chest, so Perseus was in between the two.

Amphitrite looked up at the man she loved. "We can keep him. I will raise him as my own."

Poseidon was so elated that he leaned over and planted a huge kiss on Amphitrite's lips. She smiled cheerfully at her husband's happiness and leaned her head into his chest, carefully making sure that she didn't drop Perseus. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

**~Fifteen Years Later, Training Area, Atlantis**

A sixteen-year-old boy stabbed forward with his spear, only to be blocked by a shield. The boy recovered fast enough to turn his spear sideways and catch an overhead swing that was aimed for his head. The boy feinted left before slamming the butt of his spear into the ribcage of his opponent, eliciting a pain filled, "Oomph."

His opponent lifted his shield just in time to block the follow up blow. The sixteen year old swung his spear in a staff-like motion, sweeping at his opponent's feet. His opponent skillfully jumped over the spear before slamming his shield into the boy's face. The sixteen year old stumbled backwards in a daze from the sheer force behind the shield bash. His opponent stabbed with his sword, but the boy sidestepped and retaliated by driving the blunt tip of his spear into his opponent's exposed side, effectively pushing him back. The boy swiped with his spear like a sword, slicing a shallow gash across his opponent's chest. His opponent responded by nicking the boy's arm with his sword. The boy clenched his jaw and ignored the pain as he held his spear horizontally, forcefully shoved his opponent backwards, and then swung the blunt end of the spear like a baseball bat; the end of the spear connected roughly with his opponent's head. The sixteen year old could see his opponent's eyes rattle in his skull before falling to the ground without much grace.

His opponent tried to swing his sword at the boy, but he blocked it with the shaft of his spear and the knocked the sword from his opponent's grasp. As one last attempt to stay in the fight, his opponent lifted his shield and tried to block the boy's onslaught of attacks, but the boy ended up wrenching it from his opponent's grip by using the spear for leverage, like a crowbar. If his opponent wanted to hold on to the shield, it would have broken his arm. The boy didn't hesitate for a second as he straddled his downed opponent and put the point of his spear to his opponent's throat.

"Yield?" The boy asked, an amused glint in his eye.

His opponent sighed in defeat. "Yeah, I yield, little brother."

Perseus grinned as he got off Triton's chest and extended his hand to his immortal brother. Triton grinned proudly and seized Percy's hand and got pulled to his feet. He ruffled Percy's jet-black hair.

"Nice fight little brother. Now go fetch me some Ambrosia." Trion ordered with a grin.

Percy rolled his eyes while an amused smile was plastered on his face and grabbed a square off the medicinal cabinet inside the training area. He split it in half and tossed one half to Triton. They both ate their halves, their wounds healing themselves.

"I don't think the spear is my weapon, brother." Percy remarked.

Triton raised his eyebrows quizzically. "Are you kidding? You demolished me!"

"Yes, but I demolished you faster with the sword." Percy pointed out, his lips quirking into a small smirk.

Triton sighed as Percy chuckled with amusement. "Wipe that grin off you face, brother, or I will have to wipe it off for you."

Triton grinned and waggled his fingers, challenging Percy. Percy's grin broadened as he took a defensive stance. As Triton prepared to throw the first punch, a voice interrupted them.

"Boys, no more fighting." A feminine voice commanded.

Triton and Percy turned to see Amphitrite, in the arms of Poseidon. They had apparently been watching them the entire time, but the brothers didn't even notice. Poseidon had a proud grin on his face as he had watched the two spar and banter; he was proud of both his sons. In a way, Percy solved all of Poseidon's problems. Percy fixed his marriage with Amphitrite, healed his relationship with Triton, and Percy managed to bring out the kindness that everyone knew was hidden in the depths of Triton's heart. Triton tried to act like he didn't care, but Poseidon knew good and well that Triton cared a great deal for his younger brother, whether they were related by blood or not.

Percy grinned and hugged his mother. "Hey, mom."

Amphitrite kissed Percy's cheek. "Hello, dear. Hello, Triton."

Triton smiled and hugged his mother with the same love that Percy did. As Amphitrite conversed with their sons, Poseidon's thoughts drifted back to the events that happened earlier that day.

**FOUR HOURS EARLIER**

_Poseidon was reading over a couple of war maps that Delphin had brought to him. It seemed that Oceanus's forces were beginning to grow in number, which slightly frightened as well as peeved the lord of the seas. If they were growing in number, that meant that Oceanus was planning something. Poseidon wasn't sure what it was, but it couldn't be good. Delphin had assured the lord of the seas that Oceanus's forces were still miniscule, even with the new recruitments and reinforcements. If the army kept a steady growth rate, Delphin approximated that Oceanus wouldn't have a formidable army until the year 2015 AD. Poseidon sighed deeply. It was only 464 BC, so it was a long way off. As he as reminded of the date, he couldn't help but remember Percy's date of birth. September 10, 480 BC. It was the same day that the battle of Thermopylae ended. It was the day that the 300 bravest warriors in Greece fell to the Persian assault. _

_ The Spartan 300. That's what had been on Poseidon's mind for the past sixteen years. He did think it quite strange that Percy was born on the day that all the bravest and strongest warriors died. It was a bright contrast to a dark day in Greece. Percy didn't even know—bless him, he can be a little dense—that he was born on the same day as the battle ended. His mother was a Spartan, so Percy was as well. Poseidon couldn't help but smile when he thought about the fact that he had raised a Spartan demigod. Percy certainly had the looks of a Spartan: sun-kissed skin, athletic body, sturdy muscles, and an attractive face. He had the attitude of a Spartan as well: stubbornness, fierceness, honor, kindness, but also asperity, valor, and most important of all, loyalty._

_ Poseidon didn't think he had sired another kid before that was even relatively close to Percy in terms of loyalty. Poseidon knew that Percy would fight to the death for his family and friends, the thought of leaving them behind never crossing his mind. Percy would probably sacrifice himself at any given time if it meant saving someone that he cared about. Percy was Poseidon's pride and joy, but he would never tell anyone for the sake of hurting Triton's feelings. Don't misunderstand, Poseidon loved Triton equally as he did Amphitrite and Percy, but Triton couldn't hold a candle to Percy's fighting skills. Triton was the fiercest warrior before Percy came; Triton was unbeatable. Until Percy. _

_ Poseidon was shaken from his thoughts when a prayer greeted his mind. In was a request to enter his realm, from another Olympian. He couldn't tell who it was, but hoped to the gods (which would be himself, in this case) that it wasn't Zeus. Poseidon was tired of Zeus anyway, but Zeus could absolutely, under no circumstances, come to Atlantis for the small chance that he could discover Percy. Ares had kept his word to the day, never speaking to anyone of Perseus's existence. Poseidon had found a new respect for the war god that day, and was often kind to Ares whenever he had the chance. It was all thanks to Ares that Percy was here. But should Zeus find him, he would take Percy before the Council and execute him immediately. The stupid, paranoid fool was afraid that Percy was the child of the prophecy. It might not even happen in Percy's lifetime, for Hades's sake! It could very well refer to Heracles (who was alive currently as a demigod) as much as it could refer to Percy. Heracles was nineteen at the time, and very much mortal. He was clearly Zeus's favorite child, but he disgusted Poseidon, and Percy and Triton felt the same way. Heracles used people to get what he wanted. He would make empty promises of make up "white lies" that would get him whatever he desired. But enough about that._

_ Poseidon weighed his options. This god/goddess could very well be someone who would turn Percy in with the blink of an eye, or it could be Ares or someone neutral, like Hestia, for example. Since Percy and Triton were in the training room, he decided to let whomever it was in._

_ After a couple dull moments, a bright flash illuminated Poseidon's war council room, to reveal a cheery man with an optimistic, blinding smile. He had bright blue, upbeat eyes that seemed to carry all the happiness in the world. The man had curly blond hair, and a fit body, with a golden bow slung over his back._

_ Poseidon grinned and his nephew. "Hello, Apollo. To what do I owe the honor?"_

_ "Hey, Uncle P. I just decided to drop by and ask if you heard." Apollo replied._

_ "Heard what?" Poseidon asked back. He apparently missed the gossip today._

_ Apollo's eyes widened. "So you haven't heard? Wow." _

_ Poseidon sighed exasperatedly. "Out with it, Apollo."_

_ "Okay, okay, Uncle P, I'm just trying to have some fun," Apollo said with a happy grin, "Okay, back to business. You know Heracles, right? Of course you do. Anyway, Zeus just gave him the task to steal an apple of immortality from the Gardens of the Hesperides! He'll be going in a week or so."_

_ Poseidon's brain almost exploded as he tried to comprehend what Apollo had told him. _

_ "Zeus wants Heracles to be the prophecy child, huh?" Poseidon guessed._

_ "Bingo, Uncle P! Zeus wants him to be immortal so he can be the prophecy child whenever the prophecy comes into play. I, of course, being the god of prophecy, know when that is, but I don't want to ruin the surprise! But since Heracles is the only child of the Big Three alive, that means that he will definitely be the child of the prophecy!" Apollo said, all while smiling joyfully._

_ Poseidon bit back a nervous chuckle that would have been obvious. So that's another reason Zeus wanted Perseus dead. Zeus thought that Percy would seek to be immortal so he could be the prophecy child, but Zeus wanted his own kid to be the one who destroyed or saved Olympus. Preferably the latter. Zeus didn't know, but his kid had a rival now. Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon._

_ "Ah." Poseidon responded simply._

_ Apollo's grin died. "Oh Hades! I'm sorry, Uncle P! I didn't mean to remind you of your boy that died last decade. I'm sorry."_

_ Poseidon had to resist the urge to tell Apollo that the kid was alive. But he needed to play the part._

_ "It's no problem, Apollo. There's nothing I can do about it now." Poseidon said, trying to sound wistful. _

_ Apollo just nodded sadly. "It was unfair."_

_ "You're right. It was prejudicial for Zeus to kill my child just so his own could be the prophecy child." Poseidon said._

_ Apollo frowned for a moment, but his features relaxed once again. "Well, I should get going. Expect a visit from Athena soon, maybe even today. Zeus ordered her to write a couple reports on Oceanus's army. Be ready, Poseidon, because I know how much you two love to argue."_

_ Apollo flashed out of the room, and Poseidon muttered the one thought on his mind._

_ "Heracles, huh? Looks like I need to train Perseus a little harder. He needs to be ready." Poseidon mumbled to himself as he rose from his chair. But what he didn't notice was the eight-year-old girl sitting by the hearth in the room, absentmindedly poking at the fire with her finger. Hestia, goddess of the hearth, heard him mention Perseus, and he didn't even know that he just revealed his possibly most well kept secret by accident._

**BACK TO PRESENT TIME**

Poseidon was brought back from his thoughts as Amphitrite suggested going eat lunch. The boys agreed that they were hungry and everyone made his or her way to the dining table, in a room off of the main hall that leads to the throne room. Poseidon walked with his family until a merman called him over.

Percy, Triton, and Amphitrite continued to the dining room while Poseidon followed the merman into the throne room.

"Yes?" Poseidon asked.

"Delphin wanted me to show you this." The merman said.

He pulled a letter out and handed it to Poseidon.

_My Lord,_

_Poseidon, I'm growing wary of Oceanus's forces. Scouts reported earlier today that the Kraken is now missing from its prison in the Indian Ocean. If Oceanus has the Kraken on his side, his army will be much more powerful. My prediction still stands; His army won't be ready until 2015. However, I worry. I will inform you of any more information that I acquire through reconnaissance. _

_Your advisor and friend, Delphin_

Poseidon's face paled and his heart beat faster in his chest. The Kraken? Oceanus clearly wanted to win whatever he was planning, whether it was a small battle or a war. Poseidon was deeply troubled by this news.

Poseidon dismissed the merman and sunk dejectedly into his throne, resting his chin on his fist. Before he could ponder the matter more, someone asked for permission to enter his domain. Poseidon sent a silent message that he allowed it, and the room flashed grey.

Standing in front of Poseidon was a woman. She had long, dark hair and fair skin. Her eyes were an intimidating, yet attractive, color of grey. She wore a bronze chest plate over a white chiton that fell to her ankles. Her eyes held unimaginable wisdom and her face was calm and calculating, like she was analyzing his every movement. Her stormy-grey eyes flitted around the room before finally falling on Poseidon's sea green ones.

Poseidon straightened in his chair and his neck began to tingle, like a warning. He knew something was about to happen. Poseidon just had this feeling. This wasn't going to go over smoothly.

"Poseidon." The woman greeted stoically.

"Athena. Are you here to discuss Oceanus?" Poseidon asked, already knowing the answer.

Athena nodded. "Yes. Zeus wanted me to see about the—"

"Hey, Dad! Mom wants to know why you're taking so . . . long." Percy's words trailed off as he stepped into the throne room. He froze as he saw Athena, who was gazing back at him with a genuinely shocked expression.

Athena was dumbstruck. Here she was, looking at an almost identical copy of her Uncle Poseidon. The boy was tall, maybe 5'10" or 5'11", had sea-green eyes, and jet-black hair like his father. But that wasn't what shocked Athena so greatly. The boy called the Poseidon _Dad_. As in his father. But his only immortal son was Triton. So that meant that this boy was . . . a demigod.

Poseidon felt like he was about to have a major panic attack. Athena. Was. In. The. Same. Room. As. Percy. And they saw each other. Athena slowly turned to Poseidon with an astonished expression.

Before Poseidon knew what he was doing, he was diving at Athena. He grabbed her arm just as she flashed out of the room. Right before Athena completely flashed out of the room, he felt two hands grab his shin, before he was sucked out of the throne room.


	2. Chapter 2

** A/N: So . . . how did you like it? I for one think it's going pretty good right now. I've already got a whole plot line figured out. But please don't hesitate to leave a review! I hope you guys like the first chapter! Here's the second! Enjoy! (I also noticed a quite funny error I made in the first chapter. It's still in the BC's and I wrote that Athena was wearing skinny jeans.) *****Facepalm*******

Zeus was elated. His son Heracles would be the child that saved the gods. Zeus had already planned out everything. Heracles would first eat an apple of immortality from the Garden of the Hesperides, and then Zeus would send him on various tasks. However, Zeus had one, sole worry. Sure, Heracles was immortal, but he wasn't invincible. He was worried that Heracles would die before the prophecy could even take place, even with the immortality. It was immortality like the Hunters of Artemis; Heracles wouldn't die of old age or sickness, but he could definitely fall in combat. To insure Heracles's safety, Zeus had to make a plan. Perhaps a god could accompany him and watch his back? No there would be too many problems. One, no god would volunteer for that, two, it was breaking the direct interference law, and three, Heracles would feel like his accomplishments meant nothing. He wanted his demigod son to feel like his tasks were completed because of his own strength and intelligence. But maybe Zeus could get a demigod to watch over Heracles as he goes on his tasks? From the shadows of course, so the demigod wouldn't belittle Heracles's accomplished labors.

Zeus's frown morphed into a triumphant smile. He had found the perfect plan. But he needed a strong demigod to play that role. One that wouldn't interfere, but one that was tough enough to keep up with Heracles and protect him from dangers that Heracles couldn't handle by himself.

Zeus walked into the throne room, proud of his plan. When he entered, only three people occupied it. Hera was sitting on her throne, her eyes closed. Zeus frowned. It had been awhile since had seen her sleep. The gods rarely needed sleep. Ares was also present, which was odd.

Zeus had noticed that Ares had been acting very differently for a decade or so now. He was quiet and reserved, and rarely participated in Council meetings unless it had to do with war. Ares didn't even have his bloodlust anymore. He was slightly more peaceful, if that's even possible. Ares just wasn't acting like . . . well, Ares. Zeus would often him zoning out and going into a trance, with a gloomy expression on his face. Zeus had never asked what was bothering him, but he wanted to know. Another trait that Ares had acquired recently was an increased respect for honor. He wouldn't mindlessly kill like he used to. And the strangest part was that Ares wouldn't kill anyone just because Zeus told him to. Ares would straight up refuse to murder anyone, and he said it with such hate and malice that Zeus didn't dare to try to convince him. Zeus might not be the sharpest god on Olympus, but he was smart enough to know when to stop pushing Ares.

The third god was Apollo. He looked deep in thought, and a frown was etched on his face. Zeus didn't dare disturb him, for he hadn't seen Apollo think that hard in centuries. What would Artemis say if she were here?

Zeus strode proudly to his throne before sitting on it and relaxing. He was just closing his eyes when a loud pop noise jolted his eyes back open. Zeus's eyes nearly popped out of his head. In the center of the throne room was Athena. But not just Athena, holding on to her forearm was Poseidon. And holding on to Poseidon's shin was a teenage boy, who looked . . . just like Poseidon.

Ares immediately focused on the boy. Ares had a hunch that the boy was indeed the same one he spared almost sixteen years ago. The boy was almost an exact copy of Poseidon: the same sun-kissed skin, the same raven hair, and the same sea-green eyes. The boy was fit, and Ares could tell that he was a strong boy, and probably a strong fighter.

The three quickly untangled themselves as Zeus shot a massive bolt of lightning into the air. The missing Olympians flashed into the throne room, only to be astonished by what they saw. Athena quickly made her way to her throne while Poseidon did the same, leaving the teenager alone in the center of the throne room.

"Father," Athena said after she sat down, "This s Poseidon's demigod child."

"WHAT?" Zeus roared in anger, "YOU HAD _TWO_ CHILDREN!"

Poseidon stood abruptly. "No, Zeus. I have only one demigod child."

Zeus's anger shrunk and was mostly replace by confusion. "But Ares killed . . ."

Ares then stood. "I lied to you, Zeus."

The Olympians gasped. Hera then spoke.

"Why would you do such a thing, Ares?" She asked.

"Yes, Ares," Zeus spat angrily, "Why would you do such a thing?"

The flames in Ares's eyes grew and the room suddenly felt a lot hotter. "Because it was a dishonorable action to murder a baby for something he may or may not even do! It was wrong, father, and that event has changed me! I will no longer be your hit man or your personal murderer! I STAND FOR WAR! FOR HONOR! THERE IS _NOTHING_ HONORABLE ABOUT MURDERING A DEFENSELESS CHILD, WHETHER HE WILL OVERTHROW US OR NOT!" Ares's voice rose with each word.

When he was done, the flames in his eyes were shooting embers all over the place, and his fists were tightly clenched. The rest of the Council was silent and gaping at Ares's outburst. What happened next surprised everyone even more, if that was possible.

The demigod in the middle of the room slowly walked over to Ares's throne. Ares frowned slightly at him, and the boy stared back. Then, the boy knelt in front of Ares.

"YOU DARE BOW TO ANOTHER GOD BEFORE THE KING OF THE GODS?" Zeus thundered.

Poseidon himself was impressed. Offended? No. Impressed? Greatly. Percy was willing to bow to Ares before the king of the gods. Poseidon wasn't personally offended that Percy had bowed to Ares before his own father, but Ares deserved it after that outburst. Ares put his own ass on the line for Percy, and he deserved thanks at the least.

Percy turned to the pissed off king of the gods. "I'm sorry, Lord Zeus, but I bow to the gods I respect the most first."

Zeus's jaw dropped as Percy knelt before Poseidon next. Then, Percy knelt before Zeus, which slightly allayed his fury. But he still would have to kill Percy.

"Poseidon and Ares, this boy is a danger to us. He must be killed. All in favor?" Zeus asked.

"Wait!" Percy yelled before anyone could raise his or her hands.

"Yes?" Zeus asked, slightly offended that the boy had interrupted their vote.

"Okay, I know you want to kill me because I might be the child of the prophecy, but I don't even want to be the child of the prophecy! Heracles is alive, right? The prophecy mentions a child of the eldest gods! The child of the prophecy could be Heracles for all we know. And since I don't want to be the prophecy kid, why not just let Heracles be it?" Percy asked.

Percy didn't know it, but he had just told Zeus exactly what he wanted to hear. Zeus had found the answer to his problem. It was a win, win, win! One, Heracles could be the prophecy child, two, Percy was strong enough to shadow Heracles on his escapades, and three, Zeus rarely had to see the sea pawn! Perfect! The only problem was that Heracles would be immortal soon, assuming he would be successful in retrieving an apple of immortality. In order for Percy to watch over Heracles, he would have to become immortal too. So that meant a god had to give him his or her blessing. Zeus smiled inwardly. The boy wanted to live, so Zeus would give him a choice: death, or Heracles's invisible, immortal protector.

"Ah, young . . ." Zeus began.

"Perseus. Or Percy." The boy supplied.

"Ah, young, Perseus, I will give you a choice. Either you die, or you will watch over Heracles on his path to excellence, so he will succeed when the prophecy time comes." Zeus told him.

Percy scowled. "So I'm becoming a babysitter?"

Zeus scoffed. "I would hardly call protecting the greatest warrior on Earth _babysitting_."

Athena nodded in approval. "It is a good idea, father."

Poseidon stood again and looking at Zeus. "So . . . you aren't going to kill Percy?"

Zeus sighed. "I will unless he accepts the task of being Heracles's protector."

Poseidon nodded and sat down again. Percy looked down in thought, and then back up at Zeus. "What do I have to do if I accept?"

"Well, first someone will have to give you his or her blessing so you will be come immortal. Then, you will follow Heracles around and make sure he isn't killed. But you have to be stealthy. Heracles can't know you are helping him. Stay silent and don't interfere unless it is absolutely necessary. Understand?" Zeus asked.

"Yeah, I got it. Tell me more about the immortality." Percy demanded.

"The immortality that you will receive will be by blessing. You will be like the Hunters of Artemis; you will never age and you can't die of natural causes. The only way you can possibly die is by being killed in combat." Zeus explained.

"How long will I have to shadow Heracles?" Percy asked.

"Until the prophecy comes into play." Zeus responded.

Percy sighed and looked at Poseidon and Ares. "Well, it's better than the other option, I suppose."

Zeus clapped once excitedly, drawing some questioning stares form the other, which he promptly ignored. "Now all we need is for someone to give Percy a blessing."

Ares stood. "I volunteer."

Before Zeus could reply, Apollo stood. "No offense, Ares, but Percy will need stealth training and marksmanship training. He will be mostly tracking and hiding. I believe I can help him a lot more. Your blessing is more suited for open combat than mine."

Ares nodded in agreement. "Very well."

Zeus nodded at Apollo, signaling for him to give Percy the blessing. Apollo hopped out of his throne and smiled at Percy.

"Sup, kid. I knew you were alive, by the way. Your daddy forgot that I was the god of truth and lied to me. Anyway, this might hurt a little bot." Apollo explained cheerily.

Before Percy could reply, a searing pain entered through his body. He grunted once in agony, but he was fine a moment later. Apollo looked into his eyes. "I like the whole color change thing. It looks awesome!"

Percy panicked a little. "Color change? What the heck are you talked about?"  
"You got a little golden ring around your green eyes, kid. It comes with my blessing." Apollo explained.

Percy nodded. "Well . . . okay."

Apollo patted his pack. "Tell your father to bring you by my palace after this meeting. I'll start the training and explain everything to you. See ya later, my champion." Apollo flashed a bright grin and strolled over to his throne. Percy turned his attention back to Zeus.

"It is official. Perseus Jackson, son of my brother, Poseidon, is now the designated protector for Heracles, my son. Council is dismissed." Zeus announced.

Almost all of the Olympians flashed out. Only Ares, Apollo, Poseidon, and Hestia remained. Percy walked up to Ares, feeling quite grateful that Ares was the only reason he was alive. No, he didn't hate him for killing his mother. He hated Zeus for that. Ares had even stood up to his father in front of the entire Olympian Council, earning Percy's permanent respect.

Ares raised his eyebrows when Percy approached.

"Ares, I wanted to thank—" Percy began.

Ares held up his hand and instantly silenced Percy. "No, Percy, you have nothing to thank me for. Consider us even."

It was Percy's turn to raise his eyebrows. "Even? How?"

Ares smiled wistfully. "Perseus, you helped me in such a way that if anyone is indebted some one else, it is me indebted to you. Maybe I'll explain one day, but thank _you_. You have my permanent favor, Perseus. Until next time."

Hestia approached Percy, while Apollo and Poseidon waited by the throne room doors.

Percy bowed. "Lady Hestia."

Hestia gave a warm smile. "Please don't bow, Perseus. That is way too formal for me. Plus, I'm not even an Olympian."

Percy smiled at how humble Hestia was. "I will always be willing to bow to you, Hestia. You gave your throne to Dionysus, so you may not be an Olympian anymore, but I still think of you as one."

Hestia smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Perseus. I wish you good luck with your new assignment. Goodbye."

Hestia flashed out. Percy then made my way over to Apollo and Poseidon, who both led him to Apollo's palace. The palace was huge, three hundred yards wide and three hundred yards long. The primary color was grey, but gold was the sharp contrast to it. It was an elegant palace, most likely designed by Athena herself. Floor to ceiling windows dominated the first and second floors, while the third had normal windows. Percy assumed that level was the bedroom, and he guessed Apollo wouldn't really like it id the people on the street could tell what was going on in Apollo's bedroom. Percy shuddered at the thought.

Massive marble columns lined the pathway to the front door, not even holding anything up. The grass was cut neatly, the bushes and shrubs shaved evenly, and two symmetrical fountains elegantly spouted water from the mouth of two statues of Apollo. The sun seemed to shine brighter when standing on the front lawn, making everyone seem so . . . welcome and warm in the inside.

Apollo grinned at Percy's expression. "Awesome, isn't it? Athena designed the architecture. I picked the gold color."

Percy resisted the urge to shout, "No shit, Apollo!"

Poseidon patted Percy's shoulder. "I need to get home Percy. I'm sure your mother and Triton are freaking out right now. Apollo, please flash him to Atlantis when you're done with him."

Percy's jaw dropped. "Oh, Hades! Mom is going to be pissed!"

Poseidon chuckled nervously. "Yes, she will. I'll see you later, son."

Poseidon evaporated in a small swirl of bubbles and water, the faint smell of the sea being the only evidence that he had been there in the first place.

Apollo smiled. Is that all he does? "Come on. Let's go inside."

He led Percy into a large foyer, with a small pool of water in the middle of the room, with steps leading into it. Why did Apollo need a hot tub in his foyer? Apollo showed me everything in the house: the kitchen, the large living room, a library (Apollo can read?), a storage room, a couple bathrooms, an indoor swimming pool, an archery range, a miniature arena, his huge bedroom, and a storage room. But the last room that Apollo took Percy to really captured his attention: the armory. The room was about twenty yards by thirty yards. Racks and racks of bows hung from the wall. Dozens of hunting knives rested in display cases, while swords and axes alike hung from the wall opposite of the doorway. Quivers of arrows hung loosely from pegs under the racks of bows. Mannequins stood in the corner, each wearing a different type of armor, lightweight and heavy alike. The mannequins each gripped a shield that matched the mannequins' armor in color and style.

"Wow." Percy muttered, his eyes trying to soak in everything he was seeing.

Apollo smiled as he grabbed a midnight-black bow off a rack and handed it to me. When Percy grabbed it, small lines of sea green grew and wrapped around the bow, becoming a sharp contrast to the dark primary color. It was made of elegantly shaped wood, with curves so perfect that it had to have been made by Hephaestus himself.

"It's enchanted. Pull the drawstring back, and an arrow appears. No quiver necessary. If you want to shoot some kind of special arrow, just imagine the special arrow in place of a normal one." Apollo explained.

Percy just nodded and slung the bow around his back, the string pulling against his chest and the wood touching his back. Apollo then walked to a mannequin. On it was a lightweight, black armor set with a cloak and hood, as well as a mask that covered up the lower half of the face. The shield in its hand was also black, but when Percy picked it up, sea green lines stretched into designs on the front, just like his bow did. Apollo snapped and the shield turned into a small bracelet.

"Tap it and it grows into the shield. And," Apollo snapped his fingers and the armor disappeared, only to reappear on Percy, "there is your armor."

The beltline had many small sheaths, enough to place some throwing knives or back-up daggers. As if Apollo read his mind, he handed Percy five throwing knives and two hunting daggers. Percy sheathed them all, and soon all he needed was a sword. Apollo reached down and pulled a Stygian Iron sword from a sheath that was hanging from a peg on the wall.

"This is not your perfect weapon. I've had glimpses of your future, and you will find a sword that is your perfect match soon, but this will have to do until then." Apollo told Percy.

Percy nodded and grabbed the sword. The hilt exploded with a sea green color, and stretched even up the actually blade part of the sword.

"The color is a nice touch." Percy noted.

"You can thank Hephaestus for that. The color depends on who your parent is. No shocker that Poseidon's color is sea green, huh?" Apollo asked.

Percy chuckled. "Can you flash me back to Atlantis?"

Apollo nodded. "Sure, kid. I'll see you soon."

Percy closed his eyes, and felt like he was sucked into a tornado.

When Percy opened his eyes, he was immediately pulled into tight hug.

"PERSEUS JACKSON, DON'T YOU EVER LEAVE LIKE THAT AGAIN! I THOUGHT YOU WERE GOING TO DIE!" Amphitrite yelled. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and Percy instantly felt guilty.

"I'm sorry, Mom. But I'm okay now." Percy replied, returning her death hug.

Over her shoulder, Percy saw Triton smirking at him while Poseidon was grinning like an idiot.

Amphitrite sighed. "I know, honey. Just . . . just don't scare me like that again, Percy. Okay?"

"Alright, Mom. I'll be more careful next time." Percy replied.

Percy gave Triton a man-hug and they walked back to sleeping section of the palace. As Triton's room came up, he patted me on the back.

"Good luck with your new job. If you need anything, anything at all, just call me, bro. Okay" Triton asked, completely serious for a change.

Percy nodded. "Thanks, Triton."

Triton gave Percy a brisk nod and entered his bedroom. Percy walked into his own bedroom, stripped off his armor and hung his weapons on a rack in his room, and collapsed in his bed. His thoughts were only on his new assignment as he drifted into the realm of Morpheus.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I hope you guys/girls liked chapter 2! I like where this story is going, so I will definitely continue it. Please leave reviews! Thanks! Enjoy!**

Percy Jackson was exhausted. Apollo could be a tough trainer when he wanted to be. Percy had been training for a week now. Heracles thought he deserved a break, so Zeus decided to give him a month off before he went to fetch the apples of immortality. Meanwhile, Percy was training his ass off with Apollo. It was a known fact that he horrid with a bow, but, with help from Apollo's blessing and training, he was almost a dead shot. Most of his shots would land an inch or two away from the bullseye, which was a huge improvement since when he first began. Somehow the arrow flew out of the training room and broke a vase. Let's just say that Apollo wasn't elated that Percy broke his favorite vase. Percy was getting progressively better, and Apollo knew that after a month's time, Percy would be hitting the bullseye every shot.

When it came to swordplay, he was a natural. Percy agreed with Apollo; the stygian iron sword wasn't the perfect sword for him. It felt slightly strange and unbalanced in his hand, but not enough to make a significant impact on his skills. Other than the balance issue, the sword was great. He sparred with Ares mostly, practiced archery with Apollo, and worked on his control over water with Poseidon. Even though it had only been a week, Percy was already as powerful as most of the demigod heroes in the world, like his brother Orion.

Percy had never met Orion, but he could tell that Apollo hated the other son of Poseidon. Orion was only twenty-five, and he had managed to capture the goddess of the hunt's eye with his hunting skills. That was the main reason that Apollo seemed to hate him. Percy liked Apollo, but he was a little too overprotective of Artemis and her eternal maidenhood. Apollo thinks that Orion is a threat to Artemis's maidenhood, and fears that Artemis will truly fall for him. To Percy, it looks like that's exactly what's happening. Artemis only allows Orion, not any other males, to be around her and her Hunters. Artemis seems pretty fond of Percy's brother, and everyone sees it. Percy wanted Orion to be safe, even if Orion didn't even know that Percy existed. Percy didn't want to see his half-brother get hurt.

Percy was brought out of his thoughts when someone knocked on the training room door.

"Come in. It's unlocked." Percy called as he impaled a dummy with his sword.

Apollo walked in, grinning at his favorite demigod. Percy was the perfect son that Apollo always wanted. Apollo knew his training was over, so now all he had to teach Percy was how to be smooth with the ladies. Apollo chuckled at the thought.

"What's so funny?" Percy asked, raising his eyebrows at Apollo.

"Oh, nothing. Anyway, I came to tell you Zeus changing his mind _again_." Apollo told him.

Percy looked at him incredulously. "Are you serious?"

Apollo nodded. "Hera got pissed. She ordered him to do twelve labors or something ominous like that. The apples of immortality will be his eleventh task. So you got to help him through the first ten until Heracles actually gets what he wants."

Percy frowned. "I don't understand. Why not just get apples now? It's what Zeus wants, right? Why wait?"

Apollo laughed. "Because you don't screw with Hera. If Hera wants something done, she gets it done. I imagine she would start killing Zeus's kids for the next millennia or so if Zeus didn't let her do what she wanted to."

Percy nodded, accepting the reasoning. "But why does Hera want him to do all this stuff? There's got to be more to this than Hera just hating him because he's Zeus's kid."

Apollo winked and pointed a finger at Percy. "Smart, Percy. Yes, there is more to this story."

"And?" Percy prompted.

Apollo's grin died and he turned serious. "Heracles murdered his own family a couple days ago."

Percy's sword clattered to the ground. Percy just stared blankly at Apollo. Apollo just nodded. "I know what you're feeling. I felt the same way."

Percy finally found his voice. "What did . . . why did he kill them? I knew he was a bastard but I didn't know he was a _murderer_!"

"He went crazy in a bloodlust. Some people suspect Ares, and others suspect Dionysus. Personally, I blame Dionysus. I don't think Ares will do anything like that anymore. Now Hera is punishing him for it." Apollo explained.

Percy frowned again. "Why is Hera punishing him for something he didn't do?"

Apollo shrugged. "She's probably just using it as an excuse to make his life hell. Hera hates him a lot."

Percy nodded. "You got that right."

"I'll be going. Just wanted to let you know you'll be with Heracles a long longer than we expected. Happy training." Apollo wished, and then left the room.

Percy sighed and sheathed his sword. This was going to be wonderful. Note the sarcasm, please.

**THREE YEARS LATER**

A blond-headed man that looked to be twenty-three or twenty-four strolled through the forest at a leisurely pace. He was dressed in a regular, white Greek chiton with a bronze chest plat over it. He wore brown, leather braces on his wrists and brown, leather sandals that wrapped up his legs and stopped at his shins. One hand loosely held the end of a club while the other half of the club rested on his shoulder.

He had a cocky smile on his face as he ran his free hand through his wavy blond hair. The man's name was Heracles. Heracles was feeling pretty good that day. He had completed ten of his labors now, so all he had left was the garden of the Hesperides, which was where he was going now, and then the had to kidnap Cerberus. Heracles scoffed. As if that was going to be difficult. Heracles was the greatest demigod alive! He could do anything! With his bare hands! He was the prophecy child! Zeus even told him! What couldn't Heracles do?

Little did Heracles know that a boy with eyes as green as the sea with a little ring of gold was stealthily following him by jumping from tree branch to tree branch, nor did he know that the green-eyed boy had been following Heracles for the past three years. The boy wore lightweight armor that made almost no noise when he walked, a black cloak that fluttered behind him, a hood, and a cloth mask under it that covered up everything but his eyes. His sword was in his sheath, and his bow was in his hand. Throwing knives were all tucked safely on the front of his armor, where the boy could reach them quickly. His bracelet was still wrapped around his wrist, ready to transform into a midnight-black shield.

Percy Jackson was tired. Not physically tired, mentally. It was absolute hell having to follow this guy around to three years. He had to keep up with Heracles, so he rarely talked to anyone. Apollo would sometimes appear, but he could never stay long. So, Percy was lonely. And Heracles wasn't exactly the best guy either. Over the span of three years, Heracles only reinforced Percy's opinion of him. He was egotistical, cocky, unintelligent, and many other unflattering adjectives. Heracles was a massive, manipulative jerk. Heracles managed to trick people into helping him, just so he could get what he wanted.

Percy was brought out of his thoughts as they reached the garden. Then, Percy almost fell out of his tree. A pretty—no, beautiful—girl came out of the garden and met Heracles at the entrance. She had flowing, glossy black hair, and an upturned nose that Percy thought was attractive; she also had mesmerizing, volcanic-black eyes, coppery skin, and a slender body. Percy thought he might faint. Heracles and the girl talked, and she ended up giving him a hairpin. Heracles also promised to take the girl with him when he left.

Percy was surprised. Was it finally the time where Heracles found another woman? Well Heracles was lucky, because this girl, who looked about fifteen or sixteen, was astoundingly striking. Percy shook himself out of his thoughts and began to watch Heracles fight Ladon. There was no way that Percy could interfere in this labor.

Meanwhile, Zeus had called the Olympian Council together. Once everyone was there, Zeus spoke.

"Iris, please make a large screen and show us Heracles's eleventh labor in progress. Garden of the Hesperides." Zeus said.

This Iris message formed a large screen on the wall by the doors, floating in mid-air so everyone could see it. It zoomed in on him and a beautiful girl.

Heracles smiled. "Why do you wish to help me, pretty one?"

The girl blushed crimson. "Because I do not wish to see you die."

"Well how can you help me?" Heracles asked, giving her a cocky smile.

The girl reached into her hair and grabbed a hairpin. She pulled it out and handed it to Heracles. "How will this help me, beautiful?"

The girl gave a shy smile as her cheeks turned red again at the compliment. "It will turn into a sword when you need it most."

Heracles smiled and began to walk, but the girl grabbed his arm. "Can you . . . take me with you when you leave? When my sisters find out I helped you, I will be out casted and my immortality will go away. Will you please take me with you?"

Heracles flashed a flirtatious smile. "I will always help a beautiful maiden."

With that, he rushed into the garden. Then Iris zoomed in on a tree, revealing a nearly invisible boy dressed in all black.

"Percy!" Apollo shouted with glee.

Poseidon smiled at his son, even if Percy couldn't see or hear them through the one-way Iris message.

Percy watched in boredom as Heracles used the pretty Hesperid's weapon against Ladon. They fought for two hours until Ladon lay on the ground, incapacitated. Heracles plucked an apple form the tree that Ladon was guarding and walked past right past the girl, without saying anything.

The smile on the girl's face faded. "Aren't you taking me?"

Heracles scoffed. "As if. You would just slow me down."

Heracles kept walking as the girl began to cry. She jumped forward and latched onto his arm, trying to stop him. "B-But you c-can't leave me here! I-I have b-betrayed my home! I-I'll have n-nowhere to go!"

Heracles sighed and pushed her off. "I have no use for you, girl."

The Iris message was picking up all of this. It took Apollo, Hermes, and Ares to hold Artemis back from flashing down there.

"HOW DARE HE? THAT GIRL SACRIFICED HER IMMORTALITY FOR HIM AND THAT IS HOW HE REPAYS HER?" Artemis was screaming.

Percy was having similar feelings. He glared at the so-called greatest hero of the age distastefully. If this was the best hero, Percy would hate to see the worst.

The girl attempted one more time to slow him down, and Heracles apparently grew weary of telling the girl to stop. Heracles whirled around and punched the girl in the face, knocking her on her back. The girl yelled with pain, and clutched her cheek with her hand.

On Olympus, Poseidon had to step in and help hold Artemis down. "LET ME GO, YOU BASTARDS! ZEUS'S JACKASS OF A SON JUST ASSUALTED A MAIDEN! LET ME GO! NOW!" Artemis yelled.

"She was annoying him!" Zeus reasoned, trying to back up his son's action.

"What is he doing now?" Demeter asked curiously, looking back at the screen.

The whole Council gasped.

To say Percy was pissed was an understatement of an understatement. Who punches women? Especially the one who help you? Percy wanted to intervene so badly, but Apollo told him not to unless it was an extreme case. This was bad, but it wasn't extreme yet. Then, Heracles's eyes filled with lust as he straddled the girl.

"Actually, I think I do have a use for you." Heracles said, smiling cruelly.

He pulled at her chiton, and as the first seam tore, a black blur slammed into Heracles at such a speed that Heracles flew twenty yards back and into a tree.

The gods on Olympus gasped. "He can't do that! He isn't supposed to interfere!" Zeus yelled.

No one replied, not even Artemis, because they were too focused on the screen.

Heracles stirred, sat up, and gazed up to see a boy covered in black armor. Before Heracles could do anything, Percy rammed his fist into Heracles's nose, breaking it painfully. Heracles yelped and grabbed his club that was on the ground and swung it at Percy. Percy dodged and punched Heracles in the jaw, sending him staggering back a few steps.

"Who dares attack a son of Zeus?" Heracles demanded.

"A son of Poseidon, you prick." Percy replied before drawing his sword.

Heracles roared in anger and flung a massive lightning bolt at Percy. Percy sidestepped and charged Heracles. Heracles swung his club horizontally, but Percy ducked and slammed the hilt of his sword into Heracles's gut.

Thunder rumbled dangerously in the sky, as if it was warning Percy. Zeus was probably pissed that Percy was beating the Hades out of his favorite son. Percy figured they were watching the fight from Olympus.

Heracles took a step back and flung a lightning bolt into Percy's chest sending him skidding backwards and stopped next to the girl, who was still lying on the ground, crying. Percy hopped up and his eyes caught sight of a pond nearby. Percy smirked as he sheathed his sword.

"You surrender? Smart choice, sea spawn!" Heracles roared.

The girl looked up at her savior, who now had no weapon. "W-What are y-you doing? D-Don't give up, p-please! He's g-going to r-rape me!"

Percy just smiled warmly at her. "Don't worry. I won't let him touch you."

Heracles yelled and charged, his club high above his head.

The gods on Olympus were freaking out. Artemis yelled, "What is your son doing, Poseidon? He's giving up! Coward!"

Poseidon just had a knowing smile on his face. "You will have to eat your words soon, Artemis. I know what he is doing."

Ares stayed expressionless, but on the inside, he was elated. He was about to watch his favorite demigod beat the shit out his least favorite one. How awesome is that?

"I will kill your son for this, Poseidon!" Zeus roared.

Poseidon's trident materialized in his hand. "You won't touch my son!"

"Brothers! Look at the screen!" Hestia yelled, interrupting the gods' argument.

Percy felt the familiar tug in his gut as the entire pond shot out and hit Hercules at a speed that would make Hermes jealous. The water wrapped around Heracles's body, restraining him. The only thing not covered in water was his head. Percy reared back and punched him repeatedly across the face, until his face was bloody and bruised.

"That girl was kind to you and you decided to leave her, punch her, and then try to rape her? What is your problem?" Percy asked incredulously, his voice laced with disgust.

Heracles opened his mouth, probably to justify his actions, but Percy rammed his left fist into Heracles's teeth, causing him to yell in pain. Percy then looked at the sky, knowing that the gods were probably watching.

"Have fun with you asshole—I mean son, Zeus!" Percy shouted as he manipulated the water again. It formed into a watery arm, and began to copy the moves of Percy's right arm. He squeezed his fist, making the water tightened around Heracles. He then leaned back and his arm went through a throwing motion. The watery hand reared back and flung Heracles straight up into the air, towards the clouds. Percy knew that Zeus would catch him, so he didn't worry about Heracles coming back down.

Percy then turned to the dark-haired beauty, who was still lying on the ground, clutching her injured cheek and staring at him warily. Percy walked up to her and bent down so he was crouching. The girl instinctively crawled backwards, trying to get away form him.

"Whoa, whoa! I'm not going to hurt you, I swear it on the Styx." Percy said.

Thunder rumbled in the sky, confirming the pledge. The girl still looked skeptical, so Percy drew his sword. She jumped and tried to run, but Percy flipped it around held the blade part, offering the girl the hilt. The girl frowned.

"If I do something you don't like, stab me with my sword." Percy explained.

The girl slowly took the blade and set it down next to her. Tears began to leak out of her eyes again and her body shuddered ever so slightly with tears. Percy moved forward and gently pulled the girl into a hug. She didn't even resist. She buried her face into Percy's neck wrapped her arms around his neck. He felt his neck began to feel wet as he muttered soothing words into the girl's ear.

"Ssssh . . . it's okay. Heracles is gone now. I'm here. What's your name?" Percy whispered.

The girl sniffled, and nuzzled her face deeper into his neck, which sent pleasant shivers down Percy's spine.

"Zoë. Zoë Nightshade. I was a Hesperid until . . . well, you know." She explained, her voice a little muffled.

"Okay, Zoë. I'm Perseus, but you can call me Percy." Percy replied softly.

She sniffled again and Percy rubbed her back. Then he gently pushed her back and handed her a square of Ambrosia from his pocket.

"Eat a small bite." Percy ordered.

Zoë obeyed, and the bruise slowly faded. "Thank you, Percy."

Percy helped her onto her feet, where she looked frightened again. "What do I do? I have nowhere to go!"

"Zoë . . . I . . . I can't take you with me either. It's my job to shadow Heracles, no matter how awful it is." Percy explained.

Zoë looked like she was about to start crying again, but before she could, Percy spoke again.

"But . . . I know someone who can take you in. Someone who can give you immortality _and_ a family." Percy said reluctantly.

Truthfully, Percy wanted to take the girl with him. He had only been around her for several minutes, but a new feeling in his chest was stirring when she was around, and Percy never wanted it to go away. It was a mild form of . . . content. Pleasure. Percy didn't know why, but just being in the presence of Zoë made him feel comfortable and at home. But Percy knew Zoë couldn't come with him. Heracles still didn't know that Percy had been following him; he probably thought that Percy was a random demigod interfering. No doubt he would be punished for his interference, but he would still have to follow Heracles to his twelfth labor, and possibly longer, so taking Zoë wasn't an option, no matter how much he wanted it.

Zoë's eyes lit up. "Family?"

"Have you heard of the Hunters of Artemis?" Percy asked.

Zoë frowned, and then slowly nodded. "The virgin maidens that follow Artemis?  
Percy nodded. "Yeah. She takes virgin girls into her hunt, where she will teach you to fight and survive."

Zoë smiled for the first time, and Percy thought he might faint on the spot. Subtle dimples formed on either side of her mouth, but it caught Percy's attention. Her teeth were as white as can be when her soft-looking lips parted to reveal them.

Zoë's smile faded and looked at me timidly. "Will I ever see you again if I go?"

"I don't know. Hopefully. I'll pray to Artemis." Percy responded.

Percy turned, but Zoë grabbed his arm and turned him back towards her. Percy looked at her quizzically, but Zoë ignored him. She put her hands on his chest and rose on her tiptoes, before softly pressing her lips against his. Percy subconsciously wrapped his arms around her waist, as her hands found their way to the back of his neck. His body was overloading on emotions, mixing and swirling into a new feeling that Percy didn't recognize. To both their disappointment, they had to break apart to get air.

"Thank you for saving me, Percy. I . . . I hope we meet again." Zoë told him, her volcanic eyes boring into his own sea green ones.

"Me too." Percy responded, a little giddy from the kiss of gratitude.

Percy prayed to Artemis, and sure enough, she appeared in a flash of silver. She was in her twelve-year-old form, with her auburn hair pulled into a ponytail, and her silver eyes shining with grudging respect.

"Perseus. I will overlook the kiss this time, but I won't do it a second time." Artemis warned.

Percy bowed, surprising Artemis. "Yes, Lady Artemis. Take care of Zoë for me."

Artemis nodded and stretched her hand out to Zoë. Zoë grabbed it and smiled one last time at Percy before the goddess of the hunt and her new member flashed out of the forest. Percy sighed. Time to go deal with Zeus.


	4. Author's Note 1

** A/N: Hey everyone! I'm sorry, but this is just an author's note. I wanted to apologize for the hiatus, because I'm staring another story. I will go back and forth between them, so don't worry; I'm not abandoning this story. The story I'm working on is a Chaos Fanfiction, but will not focus on Percy as much. I like support characters more than main characters sometimes, so I like to create characters that aren't necessarily in the spotlight. It will be called ****Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Resistance****. I hope you guys will like the new story! And I will update this story soon, hopefully.**


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hope you guys liked the last chapter! By the way, I used "like a baseball bat" as an expression. Obviously no one in Ancient Greece knew what those were. It was just to help explain his actions. Please leave reviews for the story! And don't worry Perzoe fans, they will meet again! I will be skipping to the Titan's Curse time period! Sorry for the long break! I had exam week and I had to study a lot, and on top of that I had write's block. Sorry. Thanks for reading, enjoy!**

**~2000 Years Later, year 2013**

A boy in combat boots, black cargo pants, and a white muscle shirt walked into the palace of Apollo. He was feeling ecstatic because he was finished babysitting Heracles. His mind wandered back to the topic that it always did: Zoë. Even after 2,000 years, Percy could still feel her soft, pink lips on his own, and he wanted it to happen again. He wanted to _see_ her: _hold_ her. Percy knew that love at first sight was pretty cliché, but Percy realized that it happened to him 2,000 years ago. Percy spent nearly every waking moment thinking of her and what he would do if he saw her again. Granted, she was with the Hunters still, and Percy didn't have a single chance to see her again after Artemis took her that day. But for the last 2,000 years, Percy was on a short leash—due to his unauthorized interference at the Gardens of the Hesperides—and was forced to follow Heracles throughout his life, even after Heracles was made a minor god. And now . . . sweet, _sweet_ freedom. But now, a different son of Zeus was in line to be the prophecy kid.

Percy heard of Thalia Grace, a girl who Zeus sired after the pact made after WWII. Zeus broke the oath _twice_. He had the girl, and then a boy named Zane. Poseidon swore on the River Styx not to have any more demigod children to Amphitrite, and they were talking about having another godling, which made Percy happy. He might be an older brother! The thought made Percy grin. But he shook the thought from his head. Today, he was going to party with Apollo and his father for being relieved of his duties.

He walked into the living room to see something he did not expect to see. Apollo's face was inches away from a pretty girl, whose cheeks were a crimson color. Being the smooth and stealthy guy he is, Percy choked on his own spit, stubbed his toe on the threshold, and hit his face on the back of a leather chair before falling onto the floor. Groaning in pain, he stood to see Apollo frozen in place, his cheeks turning a bright red. The identity of the woman surprised Percy more than Apollo being embarrassed.

She had long, dark hair, and wore a white blouse, skinny jeans, and a bronze chest plate over her blouse. She had startling grey eyes, and a calculating look on her face, but her blush ruined the image.

The woman was Athena. To say Percy was speechless was an understatement. Percy's mouth opened and closed like a fish before he finally remembered how to speak.

"Erm, I-I am just going to . . . uh, yeah." Percy stammered before turning around and walked back to the foyer and out the front door.

It finally sunk in what he saw. Apollo and _Athena_? And they looked like they were going to kiss . . . and they were blushing . . . and Apollo wasn't acting cocky? What in the world was going on? Isn't she a maiden goddess? Then Percy realized he might have misinterpreted what he saw. But what would they be doing so close together? Percy felt like punching himself in the face. Apollo was like a second father or an older brother, and the mental image of him sucking Athena's face off was just . . . ugh.

Percy settled for walking to Poseidon's palace on Olympus, where he knew he would be today. He walked past several immortal girls who all waved and giggled as he past, but he just gave them a friendly smile rather than anything else. He didn't know why, since technically he didn't have a girlfriend, but it didn't feel right to be with any other girl that Zoë. Ugh! That beautiful ex-Hesperid invaded his thoughts 24/7, and he absolutely loved it. He meant he hated it. Actually, he wasn't sure what he meant. Only that Zoë Nightshade rarely left his thoughts. He was almost to Poseidon's palace when he heard a whisper.

"Psst!"

Percy stopped, his hand instinctively moving to the hilt of his sword. He turned to his right and saw a dark figure in an alleyway. All he could see were two, shining eyes. Percy's hand itched to pull his sword; when someone calls to you from a dark alley, something good rarely happens.

"Perseus! It's Hades!" The voice whispered frenetically.

Percy frowned and then his face lit up in realization. He frantically looked both ways down the street, glad when he saw no one else. He quickly slipped into the alleyway, manipulating a little bit of Apollo's powers and drawing a small amount of light into the alleyway, just enough to see the god of death's face.

"Lord Hades? What are you doing here? It isn't the winter solstice yet!" Percy said nervously, casting glances out into the street.

Hades shifted anxiously. "I know that. But that isn't what I'm worried about at the moment. I . . . I need a favor, Perseus. A really big, dangerous favor."

"I specialize in that kind," Percy joked before turning serious, "what do you need? I'm free from being Heracles's babysitter."

Hades's face twisted into an emotion Percy had never seen on the god of death before. Fear.

"M-My children . . . Nico and Bianca . . . they were in the Lotus Casino for a time, but now are at a place in Maine called Westover Hall. A satyr caught their scent and a group of demigods as well as the Hunters are going to find them. Once they catch them, I'm afraid Zeus will kill them like he did with their mother. I need you to get them for me. Please, Perseus, I'm begging you!" Hades pleaded.

Percy stared on in shock, but he picked up a few choice words that convinced him to agree. As you may have guessed, the word "Hunters" sealed the deal.

Percy nodded and said, "Sure thing, Hades. Can you teleport me there with my armor on?"

Hades nodded and put a hand on Percy's shoulder. "They are closing in on my children. Good luck, nephew. Do not reveal your identity. Zeus will smite you if he catches you, and then trace it back to me. Once he realizes I was involved, he will definitely kill my children. Please don't reveal yourself, Perseus. Interfere as you see fit, but do not let anyone know who you are. "

Percy nodded, feeling a bit down that he couldn't reveal himself if he found Zoë. Suddenly, Hades sent a bit of energy into him, and Percy could feel his powers expanding. Percy went wide-eyed: realizing the god of death had just blessed him. Hades gave him a curt nod and Percy shadow traveled away. He didn't know exactly how he managed to do it, but he somehow performed it perfectly, arriving in a forest by a cliff, where he could clearly hear—and feel—the sound of waves clashing against the cliff side some distance below.

He realized he had all of his armor on, plus his hood and cloak. He took his bow off his shoulder and an arrow appeared, loosely drawn back. Percy hustled through the woods, following the sound of voices. When he reached the edge of the clearing, he stopped to analyze the situation.

A manticore was holding a small boy—Nico—up in the air, threatening to throw him off the edge. A satyr had pulled the small girl—Bianca—away from the monster, while a blonde girl, black-haired girl, and blond-haired boy were waving their weapons at the manticore, but it wasn't doing much.

Then a Hunting horn sounded, signaling the arrival of the Hunters. They appeared out of the woods opposite of the ones Percy was in, and immediately leveled their bows at the manticore.

"Cheaters! That is against the ancient laws!" The manticore shouted.

"Actually, it is fair," Percy replied, quickly turning his bow back into a ring before stepping out of the woods.

Half the hunters and the demigods turned to him, raising their weapons.

"Artemis is only hunting a monster, as you, in case you haven't noticed, are," Percy continued, formulating a plan.

The manticore frowned. "Who in Hades are you?"

Percy continued walking leisurely into the clearing, all eyes on him. Percy walked right up to the manticore.

"Why, I'm your back-up, of course. Master knew you would fail," Percy explained. Percy guessed completely when he threw out the word "Master," hoping to gain slight trust from the manticore.

The manticore looked frightened, and then grateful. Percy realized his guess played out well. "Really, thank you so much! I'm in a hostage situation, so if you could help out, that would be great."

Percy then gestured to the boy. "Give him here."

The manticore obliged, dropping the small boy in front of Percy. Percy immediately put his sword at the boy's throat, putting Nico in between him and the Hunters.

"Put him down! Please!" Bianca pleaded, her voice breaking. It pained Percy to hear her sound like that, but he had to continue with his plan.

"Permission to kill, milady?" A familiar voice asked, although colder sounding than he remembered it to be.

Percy breath hitched in his throat when he saw her, looking exactly the same as 2,000 years ago, but somehow looked even more beautiful. Her coal-black eyes stared straight at him, an arrow notched in her bow.

"No!" The black-haired girl shouted, "Nico is in the way!"

Artemis opened her mouth, but Percy reacted faster. He pushed Nico to the ground, whirled around and drove the sword straight into the manticore's chest. Percy pulled it out quickly, before stepping back, twisting his ring, nocking three arrows in his bow, and firing all three into his abdomen. The manticore stumbled back, bleeding profusely.

"You . . . lied . . . General will . . . get revenge . . ." He croaked as he fell backwards off the cliff.

Percy quickly fired an arrow that had a rope attached to it, acting like a harpoon. The point pierced the manticore's thigh, and Percy grabbed the end of the rope, keeping the manticore from falling. His feet began to slide as he tried to keep the manticore from falling to his death. Percy needed information about his master. The rope was too strained and snapped, making Percy fall onto his butt as the manticore plummeted down to the sharp rocks jutting out of the ocean at the bottom of the cliff.

"Damn it!" Percy exclaimed.

He then realized he wasn't alone; he hopped up and turned to see all the Hunters pointing their weapons at him, plus the demigods from the camp. He saw the blonde girl whisper something in the blond boy's ear.

"Traitor to Olympus!" The blond haired boy yelled before sprinting straight at Percy.

"Stop, you fool!" Zoë hissed, but the boy ignored her.

The stupid boy—probably the son of Zeus, Zane—charged Percy with his sword up above his head, making it super obvious he was about to make an overhead swing. Percy just smirked and prayed to Hades that his shadow travel would work. Percy disappeared as Zane reached him and reappeared behind him, but Zane's momentum kept him moving. Zane tried to stop himself, but the momentum behind his charge made him lose balance, causing him to flail his arms frenetically at he edge of the cliff, trying to keep from falling off.

Percy snorted and grabbed the back of his t-shirt, becoming the only thing keeping him from falling. He felt someone walk up behind him, so he drew his sword and put it to someone's neck. Percy turned to see the blonde girl with intimidating eyes. The daughter of Athena.

"Let him go!" She screeched.

Percy frowned. "Let him go? He charged _me_."

"It's because you're a traitor!" The girl reasoned.

"If you were smart like most children of Athena, you would have noticed that it was a ploy to get the manticore to drop the di Angelo boy. It was a clever and convincing plan. Even one worthy of your mother, Ms. Chase," Artemis explained.

Percy nodded in thanks to Artemis, who acted like she didn't see it. Annabeth turned red and whirled on the Hunters.

"Who are you calling stupid, _milady_?" She spat venomously.

Zoë put her hand on her sheathed hunting knife. "You're speaking to an Olympian, wisdom daughter, so mind your manners. Milady was correct; you are indeed most unwise."

Percy smiled and hauled Zane up while the argument continued. The black-haired girl—Thalia—took the son of Zeus away from the cliff, away from the argument that was growing.

"Don't call me stupid, virgin!" Annabeth retorted.

"You make that sound like an insult," Zoë replied, "have you already given yourself to that pea-brained, blond idiot over there?"

The Hunters snickered, and Percy stifled a chuckle. Annabeth clenched her fists.

"Don't insult my boyfriend, you dirty daughter of a Titan!" Annabeth insulted.

Zoë's eyes darkened, and Percy's hands drifted to his own knives. Annabeth smirked proudly, while the other two children of Zeus sat away from the rest of the group along with the satyr and children of Hades. Artemis opened her mouth, her face contorted in an expression of fury, but Zoë spoke first.

"Why is that different than you being a demigod? One of my parents was a god, you know," Zoë replied, visibly hurt by the verbal abuse. Her body language wasn't as confident as before, and Percy thought he could see the slightest trace of a tear in one of her eyes.

Percy wanted to bash Annabeth's face in for talking to Zoë like that, but he didn't want to interfere unless something serious happened. Percy caught Artemis's eyes, and she mouthed, "Explain later, Perseus," silently.

Percy nodded briskly.

Annabeth just sneered. "But the other one was Atlas. You don't deserve to serve the gods. If I were Zeus, you would be dead right now."

"Watch your tongue, daughter of Athena, you're talking to a lieutenant of the hunt that could easily kick your ass. I advise you to walk away before this gets ugly," Percy warned.

Percy noticed grudging respect in the eyes of most Hunters, even with Artemis.

Annabeth glared at Percy. "Fine."

She turned away and everyone relaxed. Zoë had turned around to speak with Artemis, when Percy caught movement in his peripheral vision. Percy instinctively stepped in front of Zoë, and felt a sharp pain in his side. Several people gasped, and Percy realized that Annabeth had just attempted to stab Zoë, and stabbed Percy when he got in the way. Zoë and the Hunters looked absolutely stupefied as Percy turned to Annabeth. The knife hurt, but only pierced his skin slightly through the armor.

Annabeth was pale and staring at him in shock, probably not realizing she just stabbed someone. Percy walked up to her and grabbed her collar pulling her face close to his, lifting her feet off the ground.

"Listen here, daughter of Athena, you're lucky I took the knife because if Zoë got stabbed, you would have a whole shit ton of arrows sticking out of you right now," Percy spat angrily.

Percy pulled out the knife with a small groan and dropped Annabeth. She tried to reach for it, but Percy was too tall as he held it over his head.

"Is this knife special to you? Sentimental? Nostalgic?" Percy asked.

Annabeth nodded mutely.

"Good," Percy stated, before chucking the knife off the cliff next to him. Annabeth watched the knife with horror and ran to the edge, watching the bronze blade hit the ocean.

Tears streaked down her face as she turned to Percy again. Percy had a serious and furious look on his face.

"Next time you decide to stab someone, make sure it's not your ally. Threaten or hurt another hunter, and I'll return the favor you just gave me, but with _my_ knife. Got it? Now get back to your little group."

Annabeth nodded hurriedly and hustled away to the group. Percy ignored the glare of hatred coming from Zane as Percy turned back to the Hunters. Most were looking at him wide-eyed, while some had neutral expressions. Percy walked to Artemis and knelt, grimacing and exhaling sharply as his stab wound throbbed. Artemis waved her hands dismissively.

"Do not bow to me, old friend," Artemis said with a half-smile.

"You make it sound like we're old, Artemis," Percy joked as he popped a square of Ambrosia in his mouth.

Artemis chuckled. "But then again, we are old, aren't we? What are you? Like 2,000 something?"

Zoë looked apprehensive. "Milady? You know this . . . _boy_?"

Artemis nodded and motioned for the remaining hostile Hunters to put their bows down.

"Yes, Zoë, I know this boy. We go way back. Set up camp and bring the two children to my tent," Artemis ordered.

"Milady! I will not leave you alone in the company of this _male_. You may trust him, but you trusted Orion as well, and look how that turned out. I'm not leaving your side," Zoë commented.

Artemis smiled proudly. "Very well, Zoë, but must I remind you this boy just took a knife for you? Anyway, Phoebe, take over with the camp. Bring the two kids to my tent as soon as you are done setting up."

The Hunters hurried off, leaving Percy, Zoë, and Artemis together.

"Walk with me, you two," Artemis said as she began to stroll slowly around the clearing.

Artemis walked in between Percy and Zoë, so to dissuade Zoë from scorning the very man who saved her so many years ago, as well as taking knife for her not five minutes ago.

"So, old friend, why so far out here? What is your purpose here?" Artemis asked curiously.

"A favor," Percy responded cryptically.

Zoë looked skeptical. "How can I trust you with a hood on? And what's your name? You sound familiar. And that armor seems familiar too, but I'm not sure where from . . . "

Percy couldn't stop the warm feeling that rose in his chest when she said that she recognized his voice. As much as he wanted to, he had to obey Hades's orders.

"I . . . I can't. I'm on strict orders not to reveal my identity. I'm sorry. You'll have to trust Artemis's judgment. You can just call me . . . Arcus." Percy responded (**Latin word for bow**).

Zoë scowled, but remained quiet. Artemis took that as an indication to continue the conversation.

"A favor from whom, I might ask?" Artemis asked.

"Milady, if I _could_ tell, I would. I'm sorry, I promised to keep his identity a secret."

Artemis smiled knowingly. "Would that someone be Hades? Asking you to save his children?"  
To say Percy was shocked was an understatement. His jaw dropped, even if they couldn't see it, and his shoulders slumped.

"How—" He began.

"First of all, you shadow travelled a couple minutes ago, and second, the two kids smell like death. It's obvious they are children of Hades. One plus one equals two, old friend. And don't worry, I won't tell Zeus." Artemis replied smugly, a thin smile on her face.

Percy chuckled, realizing that Artemis was much wiser than she was given credit for. The three made their way to Artemis's tent and entered. Percy sat down in the corner, which had a small shadow cast over it, covering half his body, while Artemis and Zoë sat in the middle of the tent. Phoebe went and fetched the girl of Hades first.

"D-Did I do something wrong?" Bianca asked nervously.

Artemis smiled warmly. "No, child, you did nothing bad. I would like to extend an offer to join the Hunters."

Percy shifted uncomfortably, remembering that he was supposed to return the two kids to Hades's place in the underworld. He cleared his throat and Artemis looked at him.

"I have to take them to their father first, Milady. Can this wait until afterward?"

Zoë glared at him. "Be quiet, boy! Don't try to scare away our new recruit."  
Percy sighed, wishing he could reveal himself so she would drop the admittedly attractive, snarky attitude. "I will bring her back if she wishes after she meets her father."

Artemis nodded and dismissed Bianca. Then, she called for the children of Zeus to enter.

Zane winked at Zoë, causing Percy's blood to boil. Zoë scowled, but didn't do anything that could potentially harm the son of Zeus. Then Thalia walked in. She seemed much more reserved, and not as vain as her brother. She respectfully bowed, unlike Zane, and then took a seat. Artemis cleared her throat.

"I need you two to take my hunters and Arcus to Camp Half-Blood, please. I need to go on a solo-hunting mission, something that is way out of the league of my hunters. I will call my brother to take you there. Okay?"

Thalia nodded and Zane turned his eyes to Percy. "Do we _have_ to take him?"

"Yes, you do," Percy replied before Artemis could get a chance to turn him into an animal.

Zane rolled his eyes and left. As Thalia began to exit, Percy grabbed her forearm. She turned, confused, and Percy leaned towards her ear.

"Keep him under control. It's clear you are the levelheaded one. Try to keep him from getting himself killed, okay?" He whispered.

She nodded and continued out of the tent. Percy turned to Zoë and smiled mockingly. He bent down and offered her his hand. "Shall we, milady?"

**Fifteen Minutes Later**

Percy smiled as Apollo made his fantastic entrance.

"He's so lazy in the winter," Percy mumbled quietly. Zoë shot him a confused look, but turned her attention back to the descending bright light.

"Don't look until he parks!" Artemis called.

Percy averted his eyes until he heard the chirp of the car. Apollo stepped out, his usual sunny smile four hundred times bigger than usual. He then saw Percy. Apollo, knowing that Percy was probably there on some special mission, decided to call him by his usual codename.

"Arcus!" Apollo exclaimed before pulling him into a bone-crushing hug.

"Hey, Apollo," Percy greeted, ignoring the awed stares from the Hunters and demigods. Apollo then turned to his sister.

"Hey, lil sis!" He exclaimed, giving her a hug that she did not return.

"I'm older, Apollo! How many times do I have to tell you that!" Artemis yelled.

"Whatever, baby sister. I come to pick up a bunch of pretty girls, and I get to see my favorite dude ever? You're being way to generous, Arty." Apollo exclaimed, shooting Percy an amused look.

Percy snickered slightly at the nickname, causing Artemis to whirl on Percy, and grab him by a pressure point on his shoulder.

"Ow, Ow, Ow, Ow, Arty, stop!" Percy shouted as he was slowly forced to a knee. Artemis grinned sadistically.

"Keep calling me that, Arcus, I dare you!" She said with a ghost of a smile.

"I give in, I give in!" Percy exclaimed, causing Artemis to let go of him. Apollo was laughing, so Artemis punched him in the gut, efficaciously shutting him up.

The Hunters and demigods looked on in awe as Percy acted like he was a brother to the twin archers. Percy just ignored them and turned to Apollo, motioning towards the Maserati that the di Angelo boy was groveling over.

Apollo snapped his fingers and the car morphed into a large bus. The Hunters hefted up their bags and started to board the bus.

"Farewell, Arcus, Apollo," Artemis said, "I'm off to hunt."

She bounded off into the woods, leaving the two to their thoughts. Zoë came by them, bumping Percy purposely.

"Need help, sweetheart?" Apollo asked sweetly.

Percy shot him a glare for more reasons than one. Before Zoë could shoot back some sarcastic, rude remark, Percy said, "No, she doesn't, Apollo. Don't flirt with Arty's Hunters or she'll have your head on a pike."

Zoë shot Percy a weird look, an expression mixed between gratitude and confusion, before turning and walking up into the bus. Once they were all on, Percy punched Apollo in the shoulder. Hard.

"Shit! What was that for?" Apollo asked incredulously.

"For calling the girl I'm in love with _sweetheart_," Percy half-joked with a sly grin before entering the bus himself.

The Hunters had crammed themselves into the back, while the demigods from the camp sat at the front. Ignoring the confused stares from the demigods, Percy plopped down in a row right in front of Zoë and Phoebe. They both shot him hateful glares, but Percy just smirked as he put earphones in and began listening to his IPod. Apollo entered, and he asked a question that scared the Hades out of every single camper.

"So," he said, "who wants to drive?"


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: Hey everyone! And Percy and Zoë reunite! Well, sort of. Percy won't be able to reveal his identity until the quest, so . . . sorry. Leave reviews everyone! P.S., my original purpose for this story was to create a hunting group for Apollo like Artemis's, but as you can see, I have strayed far from this idea. So, because of that, I will not be pursuing that plot idea. I hope you like the way this one is going! Enjoy!**

** Hahaha and don't worry about Apollo and Athena guys its going to be really minor in the story if I decide to continue that pairing but even if I do don't expect to see it much . . . I loved your reactions to it, though.**

The ride was terrible. The daughter of Zeus turned out to be an awful sun driver, and crashed the bus into the Camp Half-Blood Lake. Fun. Percy stood up, only to be shoved roughly from behind. He turned to see a Hunter, Elizabeth, smirking triumphantly while two others, Diana and Macy, snickered. Percy just rolled his eyes and turned around, effectively containing his anger and annoyance.

Once out of the bus, Apollo flashed away after a sly wink to Percy. The daughter of Athena roughly rammed her shoulder into Zoë, causing Annabeth to "accidently" drop the shield she was holding.

"Oops," Annabeth said in a sickly sweet tone, "Can you get that for me, demititan?"

Zoë's face turned red and Percy could tell the Titan comments were emotionally wounding her. Phoebe unsheathed a knife.

"Pick it up yourself," Phoebe ordered.

Chiron was trotting over, but to far away to hear the argument. Annabeth smiled smugly.

"No, I want her to pick it up," Annabeth explained, "because she's the one who caused me to drop it."

"Stop being a bitch, Annabeth," Thalia scolded, "just pick it up already and let's go."

The daughter of Athena scowled and picked up the shield. Giving Zoë the finger, Annabeth strode away dramatically. Percy scoffed.  
"Daughter of Athena, my ass," he muttered.

Elizabeth growled angrily, twirling a throwing knife between her fingers, probably itching to lodge it between Annabeth's eyes.

"Come on, Hunters, to Artemis's cabin," Zoë ordered.

Giving one last confused and thoughtful look at Percy, she led the Hunters over to the Artemis cabin. Chiron reached Percy just as they left.

"Who are you?" Chiron asked, frowning.

Percy chuckled. "Shouldn't you recognize your old friend, Chiron?"

"That voice . . . Perseus!" Chiron exclaimed cheerfully before pulling him into a tight hug.

"Ssh!" Percy warned, "I'm undercover for Lord Hades. I rescued two of his children today, Nico and Bianca. I need to take them to see their father. I trust you won't tell anyone about this?"

Chiron smiled. "You have my word, my boy."

Percy nodded to him before hustling to Nico and Bianca, who were standing awkwardly by the pavilion. When he tapped them, they both jumped, startled.

"Uh, yeah?" Bianca asked nervously, trying to look up his hood, but finding that she could only see darkness.

"Would you like to meet your father? He wants to see you. That's the only reason I'm in this infernal camp anyway," Percy said.

Bianca's eyes got huge and Nico's jaw dropped.

"We get to meet our Dad? Sweet!" Nico exclaimed happily.

Bianca let out a small smile that warmed Percy's heart. He could already see her as the little sister he never had. Percy put a hand on each of their shoulders.

"This is going to feel really weird your first time, so don't throw up on me, okay?"

Bianca and Nico looked frightened, but nodded. Percy closed his eyes and felt himself melt away in the shadows of a nearby pillar. He felt like he was in a freezing cold wind tunnel, and then it just stopped. Percy opened his eyes and found himself in the Underworld throne room. Hades was sitting on the throne, staring wide-eyed at his children.

Nico was doubled over, trying to not to throw up. Bianca looked okay, and tugged Percy's arm.

"Is that our dad?" Bianca asked nervously, gesturing towards the black-eyed man on the throne.

Percy smiled and nodded. Hades got off of his throne and walked up to the children slowly, as if he didn't believe they were real. Then, he engulfed them both in a tight hug. The children laughed and hugged their normally non-emotional father (well, they didn't know that, but Percy did) happily.

Percy turned to leave, but Bianca called out. "Percy?"

He turned back to the trio. "Yes?"

"Are you leaving?" Nico asked sadly.

Percy nodded and turned again, but this time the god of the Underworld called him.

"Nephew," he said.

Percy turned once more. Hades offered him a rare smile. "Stay. You have earned my permanent favor, Perseus. You have a free pass through the underworld at all times. I'll alert Alecto soon. Stay here, you deserve to celebrate as well."

Percy smiled. "Alright."

"Your name is Perseus? I thought it was Arcus?" Nico asked.

Percy's blood froze and his heart leapt into his throat. He looked at Hades, who had a similar expression.

"Do you think it is okay to reveal myself to the camp now, Uncle?" Percy asked Hades, ignoring Nico partially.

Hades shook his head. "No. Iris owed me a favor and told me that Artemis Iris messaged Zeus, telling him that a boy named Arcus saved the children. Should he find out that Arcus is you, he'll start asking questions to why you did it."

"Then he'll trace it back to you," Percy continued, "and once he figures out that I helped you by saving them, he'll realize they are your children . . . and then he will kill them."

An ominous silence overtook the four. Finally, Bianca spoke up.

"Um, Dad? Can you explain what's happening?"

Hades nodded and looked at his feet, biting his nail. "We took a very big risk by saving you two, Bianca. Arcus isn't really his name; it's Perseus, a son of Poseidon. Zeus, Poseidon, and I took an oath after WWII, promising we would never have any more children. Poseidon hasn't broken it, but Zeus and I have. You two should not have been born, but don't get me wrong; I do not regret it. Anyway, Zeus killed your mother when you were little and thought to have killed you both, but I managed to protect you. But Maria . . . poor, Maria didn't make it. I sent Perseus to rescue you two because I knew Zeus would eventually figure out you were my children, and he would kill you if he found out, in fear of your future power. If Zeus finds out that Perseus saved you, he'll ask Perseus why he would save two, seemingly random kids, and . . ." Hades trailed off.

"And he would trace it back to Hades, and then kill you after that," Percy finished, a grim look on his face.

Bianca looked horrified, and Nico had a sudden interest in the floor.

"So you mean we're going to die?" Bianca asked, silent tears beginning to fall.

"No! I swear on the River Styx I won't let you two die," Percy swore.

Thunder boomed, heard even in the underworld. Nico frowned.

"What was that?"

Hades answered with a grateful look. "Percy just swore to protect both of you . . . it is an unbreakable vow. If he fails, he will die too."

Bianca's jaw dropped and she practically tackled him in a hug. Percy laughed as Nico hugged him from the side. Hades smiled fondly at his children and favorite demigod.

Nico looked up at Percy. "So can we see what you look like?"

Percy nodded and pulled his hood off, revealing his sparkling green eyes, tanned face, and unruly raven hair. Bianca gasped and Nico poked a small scar on his cheek.

"Awesome," he muttered.

"So who are you exactly?" Bianca asked.

Percy chuckled. "It's a long and complicated story. You sure you want to hear it?"

Both children of Hades nodded. Percy sighed.

"Alright. Let's take a seat somewhere.

Percy, Nico, and Bianca all walked back into the camp at nighttime. The children had a teary goodbye with their father before shadow travelling back with Percy. Nico had fallen asleep during Percy's story of his past, so only Bianca knew about his relationship with Zoë.

Percy had pulled his hood back over his head, so no one could see his face anymore. Bianca walked at his side while Nico trailed farther behind. Bianca looked thoughtful, so Percy asked her what was wrong.

"Nothing, I was just wondering when you would tell Zoë who you really are," She said.

"Tell Zoë what?" A new, familiar, female voice asked.

Percy turned to see that Zoë herself had walked into the conversation, heading towards the Big House.

"I, um—" Percy started.

"To tell you that I don't want to join the Hunters," Bianca said, saving Percy from an extremely awkward answer.

Percy breathed a silent sigh of relief, and he smiled, knowing that Bianca wasn't going to join the Hunters. That meant she was staying with Nico and him. Zoë scowled at Percy.

"You probably had something to do with this, Arcus," Zoë guessed, giving him a hostile glare.

Percy pinched the bridge of his nose as Zoë went off on a tangent about irresponsible and unreliable males. Once they reached the Big House, Percy finally snapped.

"So you've never met a single male in the world that wasn't like the rest?" Percy asked, trying not to sound bitter, "Not a single one?"

Zoë faltered. She stopped mid-sentence, and her hardened, pissed expression seemed to melt away for a moment. Then her face became cold again.

"I haven't met one in a long, long time. So don't get your hopes up," Zoë said, before knocking on the Big House door.

Percy couldn't help but smile. She was talking about _him_; he was sure of it. Zoë thought he was different than the rest? Percy couldn't help but feel warmer . . . and now he wanted nothing more than to reveal himself to the huntress, but he knew he couldn't. He couldn't risk the safety of Bianca and Nico just so he could be reunited with the girl he loved.

Argus was the one to open the door. His one hundred eyes all turned to Zoë.

"I need to see Chiron," Zoë explained. Percy frowned, wondering why Zoë would need to see the immortal centaur.

Argus shook his head no and blocked the door from Zoë. Zoë clenched her fist.

"Let me in, Argus," she demanded.

Argus refused to budge. Zoë growled in anger. "Get out of my way, you boil-brained lout!"

"Oh yeah? Well you're a man-hating—" Argus began.

"Argus," I interrupted.

He paused mid-sentence, turning his gaze to Percy. He frowned, probably not recognizing Percy in his armor and hood.

"1949, Lydian Drakon, Manhattan, New York. You remember?" Percy asked.

Percy had saved Argus from a drakon after he dropped off some campers on a quest nearly sixty years before. Percy hoped Argus would remember, and maybe then he could get Zoë inside without a verbal abuse contest. Suddenly, Argus's eyes grew wider in recognition.

"Let her in, and it repays your debt," Percy continued.

Argus looked at Zoë, and then back again at Percy before nodding reluctantly and stepping aside. Zoë threw him one of her usual skeptical and surprisingly grateful looks before proceeding into the Big House. Chiron cantered out into the living room with . . . hair curlers in his tail?

"Yes, dear? I assume you have something important to tell me if you're willing wake me up at two a.m.?" Chiron asked sleepily.

Zoë nodded in assertion. "I need permission to leave camp immediately with the Hunters."

Chiron frowned. "Absolutely not. I have strict orders from your mistress that I'm not to allow you to leave unless she orders you specifically to leave."

Zoë's expression turned pained. "How are we supposed to get permission from Artemis if Artemis is lost?"

**Meanwhile in an Unknown Location**

A man with curly blond hair and sharp, electric-blue eyes stood quietly in a run-down room that was once part of a grand castle. He nervously fidgeted with his toga, making sure it was pristine. He suddenly heard a deep man's laughter.

"Worried about your looks, pretty boy?" It taunted.

The blond man turned to see that a taller, more regal-looking man had entered the throne room. He had dark, coal-black hair with eyes to match them. His grin matched one of a sadist: pure evil. His eyes held a malicious glint, like he was imagining himself cutting the blond man into pieces. He wore a clean, modern, ruby suit that looked stylish as well as professional, but the blond man knew not to be fooled by the man's harmless look. He was lethal.

The blond man's face turned red. "Says the man in a ruby-colored suit."

The taller man scoffed. "My suit is fabulous. Luke says so."

The blond man rolled his eyes. "Luke will tell you anything if it wins him your favor. Flattery is overrated."

"Although it works," the taller man said, brushing past the shorter, blond man, "and it usually gets Luke what he wants. And he would have had it this time if that stupid manticore didn't fail his duty."

The blond man puffed up his chest. "Deploy me, General, I will get you your job done, as long as I get my reward."

The taller man laughed. "Yes, boy, you can have my daughter and do whatever you want to her once we are done."

The taller man inwardly smiled, knowing his daughter would be dead at the end of this soon-to-be quest anyway. The blond man was jus a means to an end, and wouldn't live longer than the war itself.

The blond man smiled sadistically. "Once I have your daughter, I will—"

The blond man was cut off by a groan from the taller man. "I don't need to hear your fantasies. Anyway, you are my wild card, and I won't show you until I have to. You don't need to go yet. Not yet."

"Whatever," the blond man muttered, "call me when you are ready for me to go in."

With that, the blond man left the dilapidated room.

**Camp Half-Blood**

The following morning, Percy was unsettled, restless. He couldn't sit still and his mind was constantly running through scenarios in which the goddess of the hunt could have been captured. It made no sense. Could a god or goddess truly be _captured_? He thought back to the time that Hephaestus trapped Aphrodite and Ares, and the time that Poseidon caught Zeus and forced him to be a better king, but those were nearly impossible to imagine for the goddess of the hunt. Artemis was graceful and agile, unlike the slow and heavy (due to his body type and muscles) Ares, senseless Aphrodite, and . . . well, Zeus wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed either. He was too busy being paranoid to become wiser.

Percy was brought out of his thoughts as someone poked him in the back. Percy put his cup back down on the Poseidon table and turned to see Zane, the son of Zeus. Percy had noticed how everyone had been staring at him uncomfortably since he sat down at the Poseidon table, but no one was brave enough to venture over and confront the hooded and, in all modesty, intimidating warrior that was deep in thought.

"Yes?" Percy asked exasperatedly.

"What do you think you're doing?" Zane asked him loudly, with a condescending look on his face.

His outburst drew the eyes of nearly everyone in the pavilion, including the Hunters, Mr. D (who could care less), and Chiron.

"Drinking some blue Coke. Is there a problem?" Percy asked expectantly.

Zane leaned down in Percy's face. "You see, _Arcus_, we have a rule here at Camp Half-Blood," he said, sounding like he was talking to a two-year-old, "where you sit at your godly parent's table. So you need to get out of Poseidon's table and go sit at the unclaimed table. Okay? Okay."

Percy stared at him for a moment in slight amusement of the copious amounts of idiocy present in the son of Zeus, and the turned back around to face the table. He picked up his cup, but someone knocked it out of his hand. Three guesses for who it was.

Zane walked to the side of Percy's table, and shoved all of Percy's plates and silverware onto the ground, breathing heavily, obviously pissed that someone wasn't listening to him. Percy glanced down at the ground with a bored expression.

"Well that was rather rude, don't you think?" Percy asked.

Percy heard several snickers from all over the pavilion, but the atmosphere was still tense. Zane opened his mouth, but Percy continued to speak.

"Now can you leave me alone and mind your own business?" Percy asked him.

Zane growled with anger. "Just get out of the table! It's bad enough he have that," he turned and pointed accusingly at the Hunters table, "dirty _demititan_ in our camp, and I don't want some hooded ninja freak here either, so why don't—"

A fist to the stomach cut Zane off. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Half the crowd cheered and yelled, half looked angry, the Hunters stood up, drawing weapons to defend Zoë, like Percy was, and Percy's right knee connected with Zane's jaw. His head snapped backwards, blood spurting from his nose. A blunt-tipped arrow from Phoebe struck Zane in the eyeball, causing him to let out a girly scream and stumble back. Percy swept Zane's legs out from under him, and knelt on his chest, pinning him down.

"Get your hands off my boyfriend!" Someone screeched.

Without looking, Percy drew a hunting knife and swiftly moved his arm backwards until the knife touched skin. He almost smiled, remembering that was how Percy greeted Annabeth the time he met her: a blade to the throat. Then, everyone gasped. However, it wasn't because Percy had just beat the shit out of the son of Zeus in under ten seconds. It was because of the floating, green trident above his head, the glowing, orange son beneath it, and the dark swirling tornado of shadows beneath the sun.

The campers and Hunters (although reluctantly) bowed as Chiron trotted forward.

"All hail Arcus, son of Poseidon, god of the sea, stormbringer, earthshaker, champion of Hades, and champion of the sun!"


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here is chapter six! Please leave reviews with ideas or anything you might want to say. And yes, some of you have asked why the language isn't old English in the first few chapters, and it's because it would take too long and I'm not patient enough to get all the thee, thou, and thy stuff correct, so I just used modern English. Thanks, enjoy! Oh, and this is from Zoë's POV! Woo! Oh, and ZANE IS FOURTEEN, AND SO IS BIANCA IN THIS FIC (Nico is twelve). Either of them could be the prophecy kid, although no one knows Bianca is a child of Hades besides Percy, Zoë, and Artemis (she knew they were his kids because she figured out that Percy was sent by Lord Hades to rescue the children)**

**Zoë's POV**

Zoë Nightshade was already having a shitty day, knowing that her mistress had been captured, so she really didn't appreciate the demititan comment from the insufferable son of Zeus. Every time he or his girlfriend insulted her about her heritage, Zoë died a little on the inside. It may not have looked like it on the outside, but it hurt. Deeply. Zoë hated it when she wasn't trusted, just because she was the daughter of the sadistic, evil Titan Atlas. Zoë was preparing to calm down the Hunters after they beat the shit out of Zane, but someone beat them to it.

Arcus.

He punched Zane, kneed him, put a knee on his chest, put a knife to Zane's girlfriend's throat: all for Zoë. She couldn't believe that he—a _male_—was standing up for her! Again! Zoë was immensely impressed when he took that knife for her willingly (Annabeth was going to get some bad karma for that), and even more impressed, as well as confused, as Arcus went out of his way to make her happy. He convinced Argus to move when he didn't even know what she needed to see Chiron for, and constantly defended her from the camp bullies (not that she needed it with Phoebe around, of course).

Zoë thought that Arcus couldn't surprise her anymore, but the he did. Son of Poseidon, champion of Hades, and champion of Apollo. Zoë had already suspected he had some sort of relation to Apollo, due to the easygoing way that talked before the Hunters and campers left Westover Hall in Maine. And Hades was obvious done to the shadow travelling in Maine. But Poseidon? Zoë never would have guessed it. Arcus looked around sixteen, as she was, and Zoë was rather surprised that Poseidon broke his oath again; she thought he was loyal to his wife now. **(A/N: Zoë never knew Percy was immortal, so she doesn't think that Arcus is Percy)**.

Zoë's thoughts strayed back to the last son of Poseidon she had met—not including that bastard Orion. Perseus. Zoë still remembered that dark-haired, green-eyed, handsome boy that saved her from being raped by Heracles all those years ago. She still remembered the kiss; she could sometimes still feel the soft touch of his lips on her own. But he was gone now. That was 2,000 and something years ago, and Perseus was long dead. The thought almost made her tear up. The one kind, caring, and lovable man on the planet was . . . dead.

Zoë was shaken from her thoughts as Phoebe tapped her shoulder. Zoë hummed in response.

"Let's go to the archery range. We need to warm up for the Capture the Flag game tonight, right?" Phoebe asked.

"Yes," Zoë said, rising from the Artemis table, trying to stare at Arcus, who had sat back down at the Poseidon table while that daughter of Athena bitch tried to revive her now unconscious boyfriend. He deserved every bit of it and more.

Zoë and Phoebe and a few others were firing at the archery range when Arcus showed up. He twisted a ring, and a pure black bow with sea green linings shimmered into existence. It was a beautiful bow; Zoë will give him that. But how he can shoot? That's a totally different story. Zoë knew that children of Poseidon were terrible at archery, but then again, Arcus was the champion of Apollo, one of the twin archers. On the cliff with the manticore, he shot from close range, so that didn't show much of his archery skill. Zoë bet he was horrible at it.

Well, it didn't go the way Zoë assumed it would. Arcus expertly pulled back an arrow, his body in a perfect stance. He let go of the arrow, and it hit right in the center of the bullseye. The Hunters' mouth dropped, along with Zoë because this guy was better than everyone in the Apollo cabin!

Each shot he made split the previous arrow down the middle, creating a small pile of half-arrows on the ground under the target. Arcus shot seventeen perfect arrows before he stopped. He turned to the Hunter's, and Zoë could just imagine some cocky smirk under his hood.

Arcus turned his bow back into a ring before putting it on his finger, and then turned and left. Phoebe was the first to speak, although not a complete thought.

"What in Hades . . ." She muttered.

"A good archer," Zoë commented, reluctantly complimenting a boy.

Elizabeth hummed in agreement but had her permanent scowl on her face. "Doesn't mean we have to acknowledge it. He's still a _boy_."

Zoë nodded, but felt some remorse at doing so for some reason. Arcus had defended her at every opportunity he got, and here she was insulting him behind his back because of his gender. Wasn't it the same thing as Zoë being persecuted because of her heritage? But, then again, Zoë didn't ask for Arcus to defend her; he was doing it on his own free will, and Zoë was going to show him that he shouldn't do that, because Zoë didn't need his help or protection. She could deal with her own problems, and Arcus needed to stop weaseling his way into every one of her issues.

The Hunters trained the rest of the day until the Capture the Flag came. Chiron stood at the front of the crowd, right outside the woods. The campers cheered, while the Hunters grinned evilly, barely able to contain themselves from tearing the insufferable campers to pieces.

"Welcome to the friendly game of Capture the flag between the campers and Hunters!" Chiron announced.

Cheering rang throughout the crowd, most of them cheering for the death of the Hunters, which made Zoë's blood boil. They'd show those spoiled campers.

"Now, we have a problem to address; who will take Arcus, Bianca, and Nico on their team?" Chiron asked, directing his question at Clarisse and Zoë.

"We'll take Bianca," Zoë said hurriedly.

Clarisse snorted. "I've seen Mr. Hood over there shoot, so I want him. And I'll take the small kid too."

There was an indignant, "Hey!" from Nico, but everyone ignored him. Chiron nodded his head and then gestured towards the large table of equipment behind him.

"Gear up and then get to your side. The conch horn will signal the start like always. Have fun! No killing or maiming, please!" He added as an afterthought as everyone sprinted towards the sharpest weapons and sturdiest armor. Zoë and the Hunters already had their stuff, so Zoë handed Bianca an extra knife and bow. The group then began to jog to their side.

Bianca jogged by Zoë and said, "So what am I supposed to do?"

"Guard the flag. You aren't even trained yet," Zoë replied rather harshly, even though she didn't mean to be.

Her guilt increased when she saw the look of hurt flash across Bianca's face. Zoë reached over and grabbed Bianca's shoulder as they ran.

"I didn't mean it that way, Bianca," Zoë apologized, "I meant that you haven't gotten a chance to train yet. But I'll teach you the basics quickly once we get to the flag."

Bianca smiled and they reached Zeus's fist, where they planned to hide the flag like always. Phoebe hopped up on it and carried the flag up while Zoë explained the plan.

"Macy and Elizabeth, take Marie, Kayla, and Kira to the left, while Phoebe and I take Jen and Rachel. Bianca," she said, turning to the black-haired girl, "you, Riley, and Gina are n defense. Everyone stay out of Arcus's way; he's powerful. Annabitch and her boyfriend are mine. I'm going to get them back for the demititan insults. Any questions?"

Everyone was silent.

"Good," Zoë said, and then heard the conch shell, "Move out!"

Zoë hustled along the right side with Phoebe, and the two others. For the first minute, they didn't see or hear anything, but soon she heard a twig snap. She looked around, but didn't see anything. Suddenly, she heard a strangled gasp and Jen collapsed onto the ground, unconscious. Before the remaining three could move, a lightning bolt slammed into Rachel, flinging her across the forest and into a tree trunk, knocking her out cold.

She heard a second twig snap behind her and she drove her elbow back blindly, and it connected with something hard. But when she turned, she saw nothing. Damn that daughter of Athena and her invisibility hat. Zoë swung her leg out blindly and hit something—it felt like a ribcage—before wildly reaching out and swiping with her hand.

She dimly heard Phoebe give a battle cry, but she wasn't too focused on her best friend at the moment. Zoë's hand hit something that felt like hard cloth, so she clenched her fist and pulled it roughly. The New York Yankees hat fell to the ground, revealing the blonde she-demon that had been tormenting Zoë recently. Her nose was bleeding non-stop, making Zoë smile. _So that's what my elbow hit_, she thought amusedly.

Annabeth was holding her new dagger in a reverse grip, the blade facing down. Zoë put on a grim smile and unsheathed two of her own knives. They walked around in a circle before Annabeth swung. Zoë blocked the blade with one of her own, before jabbing with her second dagger. Annabeth jumped out of the way and swung her free hand at Zoë.

Annabeth's fist collided with Zoë's jaw, sending her stumbling back a few steps. Annabeth swiped with her dagger, but Zoë didn't move fast enough. The Celestial bronze knife sliced through Zoë's sleeve, leaving a medium-sized cut on her bicep. Zoë grit her teeth and kicked the daughter of Athena in the stomach before slashing across her face. Annabeth stepped back, clutching her now bleeding cheek.

"Bitch," Annabeth insulted before charging.

Suddenly, a random lightning bolt came out of nowhere and hit Annabeth in the side, knocking her flat on her back, her shirt sizzling and burnt. Zoë assumed it was a stray shot from Zane or Thalia: whoever was nearest. Zoë took advantage of this and straddled the daughter of Athena. Annabeth tried to stab Zoë, but Zoë swung her knife so swift and powerfully that when the blades connected, Annabeth's flew out of her grasp. Annabeth looked up just in time to see the hilt of Zoë's dagger coming straight for her forehead.

Zoë got off the unconscious girl, only half-satisfied with the beating she gave the daughter of Athena. She deserved to be hurt much worse, but, even though she was a pretty cold and harsh girl, Zoë would never go farther than just knocking her out and cutting her a couple times.

Zoë turned to see one of Phoebe's blunt-tipped arrows hit Zane in the eye that hadn't been hit by her other arrow in the pavilion.

"My other eye!" Zane wailed, just before an arrow struck him in the temple, knocking him completely unconscious. Zoë sheathed her daggers and pulled out her bow, continuing through the forest with Phoebe. The found the flag, and saw it was guarded by the idiotic Stoll brothers and the quiet—and huge—son of Hephaestus. Phoebe quickly disposed of the brothers, and Zoë's well-placed arrow hit the son of Hephaestus—Beckendorf was his name—in the forehead, knocking him onto his back, groaning. Zoë snatched the flag and they took off running back to their side, when they heard cheering and shouts. She squinted her eyes to see that Arcus had the Hunters flag, and was single-handedly fighting off all the pursuers. She saw him bash Bianca with his shield, and screaming a quick, "Sorry, B!" as he continued.

Zoë put on more speed, hearing Phoebe stop behind her to deal with the following Stoll brothers and Beckendorf, who were now up and chasing Zoë down. Zoë was twenty yards from the creek. Fifteen. Ten. Five!

Suddenly, a wave of water shot from the creek, hitting Zoë right in the face, surprising her so much that she tried to inhale, sucking water into her windpipe. She dropped the flag, and tripped on something before face planting directly into the creek—or what was left of it. She choked and spluttered on her hands and knees, trying to breath.

She heard cheering as the campers mobbed Arcus and the winning team, but didn't expect to feel a hand on her shoulder. She drew a knife and put it to Arcus's neck, trying to look intimidating, but failed horribly because she kept choking and spitting water out of her mouth. Suddenly, her clothes and body dried off. She tried to frown, but spluttered again. Arcus slowly and cautiously put a hand to Zoë's cheek, and coaxed the water out of Zoë's lungs using his demigod powers.

The crowd went quiet, probably waiting for Zoë to beat the shit out of Arcus for touching her _twice_, but she just nodded in grudging thanks before walking over to Phoebe. Phoebe gave her a strange and scrutinizing look before shooting a hostile glare at Arcus.  
Chiron laughed heartily. "The first win in years! All thanks to our new camper, Arcus!"

The crowd went wild with cheers and the Aphrodite girls began to touch him and pull him around, sneaking in idle—and slightly inappropriate—touches, and some even hugged him. Zoë looked away in disgust, and expected the insufferable boy to start gloating over his victory. But, instead, he just gently pushed the girls off of him, forcing laughs at their terrible jokes or pickup-lines, much to Zoë's surprise. How come he didn't go make out with all of them like she expected?

That was when Zoë heard the high-pitched scream from the back of the group. **(A/N: almost ended it there).**

**Percy's POV**

Percy liked winning at all, but he didn't like being smothered by slutty—and admittedly attractive—girls right in front of the love of his life. She didn't know who he was, but he didn't care. Percy saw her look away with a grimace, probably thinking how awful a boy he was. He inwardly sighed as he tried removing the girls, but that didn't exactly happen until he heard a little girl scream.

Percy shoved off the Aphrodite girls and immediately jumped into action along with Zoë, Phoebe, and Nico. The crowd turned around and everyone saw that Zane was standing over a small, crying girl. She had brownish-blackish hair, vivid green eyes, and a skinny build. She was definitely a daughter of Demeter. She looked about seven or eight, and her left cheek was cut slightly, and a small trail of blood leaked down her cheek and dripped off her chin.

When Zane saw that everyone was watching him, he asked, "What?"

Someone called from the crowd and said, "You just hit Miranda!"

Zane shot the crowd and incredulous look. "She said Arcus was better at fighting than I was! I only gave her what she deserved!"

That's when all hell broke loose. Zoë gave out a battle cry and tackled Zane as a blunt-tip arrow hit him in the ankle. Zane pushed Zoë off of him, only to receive a rough fist to the face—courtesy of Percy, of course—and then a painful kick to the ribs from Nico. Percy turned and scooped the little girl into his arms, bridal style, before carrying her to the infirmary. Miranda buried her face into his chest and sobbed, and Percy had to control the urge to murder Zane. First, he tried to kill Percy in Maine, second, he insults Zoë over and over, and now he hits a little girl. What was this guy's problem?

Percy rubbed Miranda's back soothingly as she continued to cry. When they were almost at the infirmary, her sobs reduced to sniffles.

"I-I'm t-tired and my cheek hurts," Miranda said quietly.

Percy couldn't help but smile at the cute little girl. "You can sleep when we get to the infirmary and I'll help your cheek so it doesn't hurt. Okay?"

"O-Okay," Miranda responded with a small, sleepy smile.

Once Percy reached the infirmary, he laid Miranda down in a bed and pulled the covers over her before handing he a small piece of a square of Ambrosia. Miranda popped it in her mouth and hummed with pleasure as she ate it. Percy turned to leave, but a tiny hand grabbed his own.

"W-Will you be here when I w-wake up?" She asked nervously.

Percy felt his heart warm. The little girl wanted him to be there? She hardly even knew him! All he did was pick her up, after all. But, Percy, being the softie he is, agreed.

"Sure, if you want me to," He replied kindly.

Miranda grinned at him before snuggling under the covers and closing her eyes. Percy pulled out a chair and the next thing he knew, his eyes were drooping. His last thoughts were on the sweet little girl that was lying on the bed beside him.


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N: I hope you liked the last chapter! If you haven't noticed, I'm shortening each chapter by about 500-1000 words so I can update faster (not including the times I have writer's block). They are still a pretty mediocre length, but it means I can post much more of them much faster. Anyway, please leave your thoughts on the story in reviews! Oh, and thank you, Anaklusmos14, for adding my story to the Percy and Zoë Stories Community. And there is a HUGE plot twist towards the end. Somebody isn't who you all think he is . . . Thanks, and Enjoy!**

**Poseidon's POV**

"Milord, the time is nearing, and we need to prepare," Delphin advised the lord of the sea.

Poseidon nodded, staring down at the extensive and detailed map of the ocean. 2015: only approximately two years away. Oceanus's threat was still present, and small skirmishes had broken out in the Indian Ocean, drawing parts of his army towards that location. Poseidon's hair had become slightly grayer, representing the strength and condition of his kingdom, and the danger they were in was grave. The Kraken was never recovered, meaning that Oceanus was indeed planning on using it in his army. Poseidon sighed, his thoughts drifting to his son, Percy. Poseidon knew Percy was somehow involved in the Great Prophecy, whether he was the main prophecy kid or not. He rubbed his temples, trying to imagine the amount of pressure that would be put on Percy's shoulders. But he needed to stop worrying about his son; Percy could take care of himself, whatever the circumstance.

Poseidon felt slender arms wrap around his waist and felt a warm body press against his back. Poseidon smiled warmly at his wife's touch.

"Hello, dear," Poseidon greeted Amphitrite.

Poseidon turned around and gave his shorter wife a proper hug, placing his hand on the back of her dark-haired head. Amphitrite rested her head on his chest.

"You need to stop worrying, Poseidon. Your hair is turning gray," Amphitrite commented.

"I'll excuse myself, milord. I'll meet with you later," Delphin said, before swimming out of the room quickly.

Poseidon rested his chin on the top of Amphitrite's head.

"I'm afraid that not worrying will make my hair even grayer, my dear. Oceanus's army will be big enough for a serious attack in two years and we have absolutely no information on where he is, what he is doing, how big the army is—nothing. It worries me. I cannot lose my kingdom, Amphitrite, I cannot," Poseidon spoke into her dark locks.

She rubbed Poseidon's back soothingly. "We'll figure something out."

They were silent for a moment.

"How's Percy?" Poseidon asked his wife, knowing that she had been watching over him at the camp.

Amphitrite smiled fondly at the mention of her son in everything but blood. She had seen him at the camp, and was proud of her boy. He had already stood up to the two camp bullies—Annabeth and Zane—and defended that man-hating girl that he fell in love with 2,000 years ago. She smiled at the fact that Percy was as loyal as his father (well, now Poseidon is loyal, anyway). Amphitrite remembered watching Percy beat up Heracles on Hephaestus's Iris message show **(A/N: Was gonna say Hephaestus TV, but it was before 0 AD)**, and how her pride swelled when she watched him defend that Hesperid. She also remembered that it was the day that Percy got his first and last kiss. Percy was so stubbornly loyal that he hadn't even looked at another woman besides the lieutenant of the Hunt. Now, even 2,000 years later, Percy was still just as in love with her as he had been the first day—and also the last—he had met her, not even bothered by their separation.

Amphitrite also noticed how much Percy hated concealing himself from her. Yes, Amphitrite knew of Hades's children, and so did Poseidon. Poseidon didn't care for violence upon his brothers, so he didn't want to kill Nico or Bianca, for he didn't fear nor hate them.

"Fine, dear," Amphitrite said, "but I have a dreadful sense of foreboding. I fear something will happen soon."

Poseidon nodded. "My senses have been on the fritz for a while now. I have felt it as well, but I have no idea what this could be."

Amphitrite looked up. "Perhaps a prophecy? Artemis has been captured."

Poseidon perked up at this. "What?" He asked incredulously.

"Artemis was kidnapped and she took the sky, dear," Amphitrite explained.

Poseidon furrowed his eyebrows. "One must willingly take the weight of the world. Surely she would not save Atlas from his burden."

Artemis nodded grimly. "That is correct; she took the sky to save a maiden: an unclaimed girl that was roaming the country. Artemis willingly took the sky for her, and she is now imprisoned on the mountain with Artemis. I believe a prophecy will be issued to the campers by the Oracle."

Poseidon nodded in agreement. "You are most likely right. I hope it won't be dangerous . . . I fear Percy may be involved."

**Bianca's POV (Surprise!)**

Bianca hurried to the infirmary to tell Percy the news, but she was surprised when she found him asleep next to a girl, who was also sleeping. Bianca recognized the girl as Miranda, the daughter of Demeter that Zane hit for insulting him. Bianca couldn't keep an evil grin off her face as she remembered how Zoë had served him his ass on a silver platter after Percy left with Miranda. Zane belonged in the infirmary himself, but Chiron thought it would be unwise considering the fact that Miranda was in there also. Zane was currently unconscious in the Big House, lying on the living room couch, recuperating from his nasty beating.

Bianca gently shook Percy awake, refraining from laughing when she saw the drool drip from his chin. Percy woke up finally after Bianca slapped him through his hood.

"Ow," He muttered groggily.

"Arcus," she hissed urgently, still hating that fake name, "there was a prophecy issued to Zoë! There's a meeting in ten!"

Percy stood up quickly knocking over his chair, and waking up Miranda in the process. Will Solace came by and helped the daughter of Demeter up before carrying her towards the door.

"Bye, Arcus," Miranda said as she waved.

Percy smiled warmly and waved back. Bianca wasted no time and grabbed his wrist before yanking him towards the door.

Once the pair got into the Big House rec room, everyone that was supposed to be there was present, including Zane and Annabeth, unfortunately. Chiron nodded towards Zoë.

Zoë turned to Arcus and recited the prophecy.

"_Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,_

_One shall be lost in the land without rain,_

_The Spartan of Olympus and Lieutenant of Artemis show the trail,_

_Campers and Hunters combined prevail,_

_The Titan's curse must one withstand,_

_And one shall perish by a parent's hand."_

Percy sighed next to Bianca. Everyone remained silent until Phoebe spoke up.

"Who the hell is the Spartan of Olympus?"  
"That would be me," Percy said. Everyone looked at him incredulously. Bianca nodded, knowing that Percy was a Spartan demigod. Zoë glared at him.

"What's that supposed to mean? How do you know?" She accused.

"Because I know my heritage. My mother was a Spartan woman," He answered.

Annabeth burst into uproarious laughter, while some other joined in with nervous chuckles or coughs. She pointed a finger at Percy.

"You would have to be immortal or a time-traveller, idiot! The Spartans were wiped out thousands of years ago. You're lying!" Annabeth screeched.

The other campers nodded in agreement while Zoë stared suspiciously at him.

"I _am_ immortal, in fact," Percy replied to the daughter of Athena.

Everyone was quiet again until Zane stood up, his face red from anger.

"You're so full of it! Immortal my ass!" He called, some others voicing their agreement.

Faster than the eyes could register, Percy whipped out a knife, cut his palm, and squeezed his hand into a fist. Everyone watched silently in states of shock as a drop of golden ichor splattered onto the Ping-Pong table. Percy calmly sheathed his knife.

"Is that enough proof for you?" Percy questioned quietly.

No one replied until Chiron broke the silence moments later.

"Well, we know two of the five going: Miss Nightshade and Mr. Arcus. Anyone else?"

"I'll go," Bianca volunteered, ignoring the shocked stares of the other campers.

Zane stood up again. "What? She's unclaimed! We can't trust her just as much as we can't trust that demititan!"

"She's braver than you," Percy commented, "and that counts for a lot. She may be unclaimed, but the fact that she just volunteered shows she had more guts than you."

Zane looked down before looking back up again. "Fine. But I want to come too. I'm a pretty good fighter."

Bianca could tell Percy was glaring at Zane, but he then turned to Zoë. Zoë opened her mouth, but Phoebe interrupted.

"I hate the kid, but his fighting skill is respectable. He'd be a valuable teammate," Phoebe said with grudging respect.

Zane nodded in thanks, and the Zoë spoke.

"If I hear one demititan comment on this quest, you'll come back without one of your fingers. Got it?" Zoë asked warningly.

Zane swallowed nervously before nodding. Bianca noticed Percy look away in disgust before Chiron asked the question everyone wanted to hear the answer to.

"So who will be the last quest member?" Chiron asked.

"I will," Phoebe said bravely.

Zoë nodded in approval. Chiron smiled grimly. "Then the quest is set in stone. I bid you all good luck. You will leave tomorrow afternoon. Meeting adjourned."

All of the campers stood up and exited, heading for whichever cabin was their own. Bianca and Nico walked back to the Hermes cabin with Percy.

"You two won't die, right?" Nico asked worriedly.

"Nico, it's going to be—" Bianca began.

"_Okay_? It's going to be _okay_? You heard the prophecy, B! Two people aren't coming back!" Nico exclaimed with a tear running down his face.

Bianca hugged Nico fiercely. "We won't die. Remember Percy's promise?" She whispered in his ear, "He'll keep me safe. I'll come back; I promise."

Nico nodded and gave Percy a hug too. Bianca smiled, seeing that they had already formed a brother-like bond with each other. Bianca herself was proud to be able to call Percy an older brother. Now all she needed to do was fix his love life . . .

**Percy's POV**

Percy and Bianca walked groggily and rather slowly to Half-Blood Hill, around four p.m.. Chiron wanted them to sleep in and wake up around twelve, but the anxious demigods hardly got any rest. They all awoke around ten, although still tired. They took several naps throughout the day, trying to become rested for the upcoming quest. Percy and Bianca had just awoken from one of those naps. When they arrived at Thalia's tree, only Zoë and Phoebe were present. The dropped their bags by the two Hunters and took a seat, leaning against Thalia's tree. Phoebe shot Percy a nasty look like always, and, like always, Percy brushed it off; it was in her nature to despise boys.

"Where is that idiot boy?" Zoë asked with clear distaste in her voice.

Bianca shrugged. "Maybe he overslept?"

Phoebe scoffed. "Typical male behavior."

Percy rolled his eyes under his hood and leaned his head back against the trunk, closing his eyes. Percy wanted to show Zoë who he was. He wanted to. Badly. _But Bianca and Nico would be in danger_, a small part of his brain reasoned. The other side of his brain rolled its imaginary eyes. _Sure_, it said, _but we love Zoë! We have to tell her!_

Percy was just beginning to question his sanity when a loud yawn pulled him from his thoughts. Percy saw a groggy son of Zeus stumble up the hill, his bag slung over his shoulder.

"Finally," Zoë huffed angrily, "you're late."

"Sorry, princess, we humans need sleep," Zane retorted. Percy stifled a laugh and then frowned. He laughed at something Zane said? Weird.

Phoebe shoved him roughly. "Shut up, pig. Let's go; Argus is waiting."

Bianca stayed close to Percy, something that didn't go unnoticed by the lieutenant of the hunt. Percy's eyebrows raised as Zoë kept shooting suspicious looks at the pair with a little . . . _jealousy_ mixed in?

Before Percy could think more about it, they reached Argus's van. Argus tossed Percy the keys and they all piled in: Zane and Percy in the front, and the girls in the back. Percy started the engine, and soon they were driving through the streets of Manhattan. Zane was looked out the window sleepily while the girls conversed quietly in the back.

"Where are we going?" Percy asked, directing his question towards the back of the van.

"DC," Zoë replied, "that's where Artemis was headed last."

Percy nodded and stepped on the gas, speeding southward through the streets of Manhattan. Percy drove for hours until he began to feel tired. It was one a.m., and everyone was asleep except for Zane. Now that Zane was alone with the rest of the quest members, he didn't seem vain or cocky at all. He was reserved and sort of . . . nervous looking?

"Zane," Percy asked, keeping his eyes on the road, "you okay?"

He heard a slightly muffled sob and realized it came form the son of Zeus.

"Zan—" Percy started.

"I didn't hit the little g-girl, Arcus," Zane said, lifting his head up to show his red and slightly swollen eyes, "and I d-don't have anything against Zoë for being a d-daughter of Atlas."

"Zane, are you feeling—" Percy tried to start again.

"It wasn't m-me!" Zane whisper-yelled, "Annabeth was the one who h-hit Miranda! I didn't t-touch the girl! My girlfriend despises Zoë, so she told me to insult her at every chance I got! I-I'm not like this, Arcus . . . I . . . I'm not a b-bully, I just . . . I didn't want Annabeth to be mad . . . she sad she'd break up with me if I didn't do what she said . . . I think I love her! I couldn't lose her! So she told me to stand by the girl and stay quiet and act guilty when everyone turned around! I d-didn't know why s-she hit Miranda! I d-didn't know she was g-going to!"

Percy's eyes widened in shock, trying to take all the information in. Granted, Zane could be fake crying and lying, but Percy noticed the pained look in Zane's eyes. Was it possible that Percy misjudged the son of Zeus? Percy could believe the part about Annabeth; she was a ruthless, conniving bitch and she definitely hated Zoë, but why would she just randomly hit Miranda?

Zane put his head in his hands, drying his eyes. Percy glanced over at him.

"Okay . . . say I believe you. Why would Annabeth hit Miranda?" Percy asked.

"I-I don't know," Zane admitted, "she said she needed a distraction for her plan to work. I d-don't know what she meant by it."

Percy frowned, but he was beginning to believe Zane. It made since; Percy didn't remember seeing Annabeth when Miranda got punched, but why would Annabeth do that? What was the "plan" she mentioned to Zane? Was Zane actually not a bad guy? Percy realized that Zane was hopelessly in love with a cold-hearted-bitch—much like his own situation, actually, although Zoë wasn't a bitch; she was just a little cold and harsh at times.

Percy didn't know what compelled him to believe Zane; maybe being Apollo's champion, he had increased detection of lies. His senses weren't going crazy, meaning Zane was most likely telling the truth, or he was a really, _really_ good liar. But looking at Zane's expression in the corner of Percy's eyes, Percy could tell he wasn't kidding or being fooled. Zane was being honest.

"Well . . . alright, I believe you," Percy said to him.

Zane's head snapped up. "What? Really? Just like that?"

Percy nodded, although frowned. "Why? Do you not want me to believe you?"  
Zane shook his head. "No . . . I just thought you hated me and wouldn't believe anything that came out of my mouth."

"Ah," Percy replied awkwardly, for a lack of a better response.

They were silent for a while before Percy spoke up again. "Why do let Annabeth boss you around?"

Zane looked surprised. "She doesn't _boss_ me around."

Percy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "But you said Annabeth told you to do all that stuff, right?"

Zane looked away. "Yeah . . . but she doesn't boss me," he argued feebly.

Percy sighed. "Look, I won't tell you who to hang out with, but Annabeth is bad news. And as for the stuff you told me, don't expect me to treat you differently right away. You still have to prove yourself to me, got it?"

Zane nodded before turning to face the window. Zane leaned his head back and Percy soon heard a soft snoring. Percy felt bad for the son of Zeus, but he still had no excuse for insulting and bullying Zoë because of her parentage. Percy had a new, budding respect for the son of Zeus, but was far from liking him. Zane had a lot to answer for, as did Annabeth. Percy was going to make sure he got in a little talk with Annabeth for what she did after Capture the Flag, a party trick that ultimately got Miranda hurt. She would answer for her wrongdoings.

Percy drove on into the night.


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: How did you guys like that total character plot twist last chapter? Who knew Zane wasn't some heartless jerk? He's being manipulated by Annabeth . . . what was her plan? Will it succeed? Or maybe Zane is lying about this whole thing . . . Anyway, thanks for reading guys! Please leave reviews because I love hearing from you people! Thanks, and Enjoy!**

**Oh, and there has been a Guest leaving reviews and I just wanted to ask you if you realize that you can leave **_**positive**_** reviews too, instead of scrutinizing my story for every single mistake. You keep leaving reviews before you read the next chapter, and that's always where I note my mistakes in the previous one if I don't go back and fix it. The scene with Miranda seems overdramatic and all that shit, but it is actually important for the plot. You just don't know it yet. You will at the end of this chapter though.**

**READ THE SHIT BELOW THIS NOTICE, PLEASE AND THANK YOU**

**A couple of you have asked me if I have some sort of schedule that I update according to, but in truth, I don't. I don't have a lot of time to write, so I try to update when I can, but sometimes I'll have to go a week without doing so, or sometimes I'll have a weekend where I have nothing to do so I can update two or three chapters quickly. It just depends on what I have going on.**

**This is a filler chapter, so it won't be super fantastic. It's probably going to be terrible, but bear with me; the next chapter will hopefully be more dramatic and about Zoë and Percy. Enjoy!**

**Unknown POV**

"Did the plan work?" The regal-looking, black-haired and black-eyed man asked his newest minion.

"Yes, milord," the female responded, slightly cowering under his intimidating gaze.

"How long will it take?" He asked her.

"It should take effect some time tonight, maybe tomorrow. Odds are, she won't even reach you," the minion responded.

The regal man laughed. "Gods of Olympus, this is rich! I like you, kid. We have a bright future ahead of us, don't you think? And now that you and your little boyfriend are reunited, everyone is happy! Now all we have to do is deal with the sea spawn . . ."

**Zoë's POV**

Zoë woke up with a crick in her neck. She reached up to rub it, but winced in pain as her fingers brushed it. She frowned: why did it hurt? Zoë sat up straight and looked around, seeing that Zane was now driving and Arcus was asleep against the passenger side window. Bianca and Phoebe were in deep sleep as well, so Zoë was the only passenger awake.

Zoë cautiously raised her hand to her neck, only to grit her teeth and hiss in pain when her fingers brushed her neck. It was like she got stabbed or shot with an arrow, but surely she would be dead had a sword or arrow pierced her neck. Zoë tried to remember getting hit there, but couldn't recall any sort of occasion where she could have gotten hit in the neck.

She felt to feel a little sick to her stomach, like she was about to throw up her lunch. Zoë felt a little hot as well, but brushed it aside and gently shook Bianca awake. The small, unclaimed, black-haired girl groggily opened her eyes, her hair strewn all over the place in her restless sleep.

Bianca tried to ask Zoë what she needed but it came out like, "Wah u nhee Zee?"

"Ambrosia," Zoë croaked without acknowledging the girl's temporary, sleep-induced speech impediment.

Bianca sleepily pointed at a backpack before rolling over and closing her eyes again. Zoë dug through the bag, found a square of Ambrosia, tore it in half and ate it. She didn't want to risk eating too much in case a fight came soon, but she couldn't do anything with the strange pain in her neck. As she ate the delicious food of the gods, the stinging in her neck decreased to a dull ache, like someone had hit her with a rock, instead of stabbed with a sword.

She laid her head back against the side of the van again and closed her eyes, hoping to find dreamless sleep.

She did.

**Zane's POV**

Smithsonian, eh? Zane's eyes scanned the area and museums, trying to locate some sort of threat, but saw none. Zoë and Phoebe walked past him, shooting him disgusted and ireful glares. Zane's heart felt like lead. Zoë must have hated him for the Titan comments. Zane didn't even want to insult her, of course. Hell, Zane didn't even have a problem with her being the daughter of a Titan. Nor did he get "so angry" that he hit a little girl.

Zane's blood boiled at the memory of Annabeth hitting the poor girl in the face. Zane wanted to get mad at her, but . . . he loved her. She would break up with him if he questioned her motives. She was always mumbling something about plans and "cause and effect."

Zane had no idea what she was talking about, and she would scold him whenever he asked. Guilt gnawed at his insides when he recalled the daughter of Demeter's hurt and fearful expression as her cheek started to bleed. If her cheek busted open from a punch, Annabeth must have hit her _hard_. Zane questioned himself; why did he love this girl? All she had ever done was control him and cause him to fall hopelessly in love with her. He may not have realized it until right then, but he was just a means to an end: another pawn.

"Alright, where to now?" Arcus asked Zoë, drawing Zane from his thoughts.

The lieutenant of the hunt gazed around, eyeing each museum. Her expression turned thoughtful until she pointed one out.

"Air and Space Museum," she said, before her and Phoebe began the trek across the grass towards the monumental building. Arcus hung back with the unclaimed girl, who Zane didn't have a problem with either; Annabeth whispered something to him during the meeting before the quest, and told him to protest her going on the quest, but, again, she didn't tell Zane why. Why had Zane allowed this girl to mess his life up like this? He had managed to get almost every single camper to hate him, all because he did everything that Annabeth asked of him without question. What made him so vulnerable to her?

Once they reached the museum, they decided to take a break. Arcus decided to do a perimeter check and left the museum, heading towards one of the other museums. Zane and the rest of the group sat on a bench in front of a spaceship exhibit, all lost in their own thoughts.

"Does anyone actually know where we are going?" Bianca asked.

"Well it said the Spartan and lieutenant lead the way, so Zoë must know," Zane reasoned.

Zoë shot him an angry glare and she turned away, obviously not in the mood to talk. He would just have to ask Arcus later; he would know. Phoebe mumbled something about stupid boys and hoods and identities, but Zane ignored her. Due to the demigods' massively screwed up sleeping schedule, Zane found himself close to dozing off. However, he was jolted from his half-conscious state when Arcus rounded the corner, sprinting as fast as he could, shoving tourists out of the way.

"Guys," He yelled, "Spartoi! I counted twelve or thirteen! We need to go, like now!"

Everyone bolted up, but as they turned to leave, one voice became prominent in a crowd of now screaming mortals.

"Look mommy, it's a kitty!" A child exclaimed happily.

Then, they heard a massive roar that shook the foundation fo the museum. Something told Zane that the poor kid who called it a kitty would forever have a rational fear of cats. Zoë hurried and looked over the balcony to the first floor. Her face looked panicked.

"It's the Nemean Lion," she practically whispered.

Arcus twisted his ring and notched an arrow in his black bow. He fired an arrow, but it just deflected off the lion's side. The lion located the group and roared so fiercely that it parted Zane's hair.

"Whoa," Zane commented.

Arcus looked at Zoë, "I'll go close combat and try to find a weakness. Shoot arrows to distract it."

Zoë looked miffed about taking orders from a male, but she nodded anyway. Arcus hustled down the stairs, with Zane following him. Soon, the Nemean Lion was being attacked from basically every direction. Arcus had its attention, while Zane blasted it with lightning. Zoë, Bianca, and Phoebe perched on some suspended aircraft and started shooting downward, while the mortals ran around screaming bloody murder.

Zane got too close to the beast, and it whirled around on him. Zane blocked a claw with his javelin, but didn't expect the lion to body slam him. Zane was thrown up against the wall of the museum, only semi-conscious. Through his blurry vision, he saw Arcus throwing something at the lion, and saw the three archers filling the lion's mouth with arrows.

Percy came over and helped him up, before walking over to the strange fur coat lying on the ground.

"What's that?" Bianca asked curiously, standing rather closely to Arcus. Was there something going on there?

Apparently, Zoë noticed to, because she sent a good glare at them before turning to the coat.

"It is a spoil of war. Take it Arcus, you deserve it," Zoë ordered.

"But you fired the killing shot," Arcus reasoned.

Zoë looked perplexed, before she gestured to it again. "Seriously, it was your strategy. Take the stupid coat. I do not want it because of its past owner."

Zane could almost picture Arcus frowning.

"Who owned it beforehand?" Bianca asked curiously.

Zoë's face twisted into a scowl, before uttering one, harsh, venomous word. "Heracles."

Arcus stood rigid for a moment before looking back at the coat. He leaned down and scooped it up. Zoë rolled her eyes.

"Boys, always wanting to be like Heracles," she muttered, Phoebe giving a disgusted nod of agreement.

Much to everyone's surprise, Arcus whipped out a lighter and lit the coat on fire before dropping it in a trashcan.

"For Lady Artemis," he mumbled quietly, but everyone heard him.

Zoë narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

Arcus sheathed his sword. "Heracles is a dirty bastard. I want nothing that has ever touched him."

Zoë was shocked into a stunned silence, but Phoebe wasn't done. "What are you playing at? Every _boy_ wants to be like Heracles."

Arcus clenched his fists. "As I _just_ said, I want nothing to do with him! He isn't even a fraction of what everyone says he is. He is cruel and manipulative, and I don't care how many quests he's completed!"

Phoebe stared at him for a couple seconds before turning to Zoë. Then, Zane heard Arcus mumble something.

"And he couldn't have completed the quests without me . . ."

Before Zane could ask what that even meant, Bianca's head snapped up. "Spartoi are here!"

Phoebe looked at her suspiciously, since there was absolutely no one around, much less the Spartoi, but Arcus looked alert. "We need to go."  
The group quickly hurried out of the museum, and out the back. They ran to the van, hearing the Spartoi clatter angrily far behind them. They piled into the car, Zoë driving.

"Step on it!" Arcus shouted, shooting an arrow out the back of the van.

The arrow struck the Spartus in the chest, making it disintegrate in a flash of flames, reducing it to ash. However, Phoebe's arrow just knocked off random bones or harmlessly bounced out them. Zane frowned as he leaned out and slammed the back door shuts. Why were Phoebe's arrows doing nothing?

Suddenly, Bianca, who was in the front with Zoë, leaned out the window and paled.

"We have a helicopter following us," She stated solemnly.

**Percy's POV**

Percy frowned when his arrow struck the Spartus and disintegrated it, where as Phoebe's only knocked a couple bones off. Before he could think much more about it, Zane closed the back of the van, and Bianca mentioned something about a helicopter following them.

"They know the car, Zoë. We need to ditch it and find another," Percy told her.

"Okay, I can keep going a while and—" Zoë began.

"Turn left! Trust me!" Bianca exclaimed, pointing at something through the windshield.

Zoë swerved through the traffic, causing most people on the street to blow their horns madly while trying to evade the van. Zoë stopped the car and they all jumped out, following Bianca, who was running towards some sort of opening in the ground.

_A subway tunnel_, Percy realized.

Once they got into the subway tunnel, the group leaned against a wall and caught their breath. Percy gave Bianca a tight hug, oblivious to the strange look emanating from Zoë.

"Nice job finding the subway, B," Percy said into her dark locks.

Bianca smiled warmly, relishing the safe feeling she had in the arms of her 'big brother.' Percy assumed that she felt relieved she could rely on someone because she always had to be the strong one for Nico. Now Bianca could relax and Percy could take the full brunt of all their problems and obstacles.

"If you're done flirting," Zoë stated harshly, "then we can purchase tickets."

With that, she stalked off, looking rather miffed for some reason that Percy didn't know. Percy frowned, while Phoebe followed Zoë to the line of people waiting to buy tickets.

-X-

The first train took them as far as Denver. They had switched trains twice on the way, so they could confuse the pilot of the helicopter, which worked. The second train left them in a snowy train yard filled with immobile and empty train cars, covered in a foot of snow. The only person in sight was a man huddled around a lit trashcan, trying to warm his hands.

"I'm cold," Phoebe muttered, looking wistfully at the burning trashcan.

The group walked over, warming their hands on the fire next to the homeless man. Something about the man seemed oddly familiar: the eyes were bright blue, the hair blond, although greasy, and the teeth seemed to shine as they chattered . . . could it be.

"Hey, Sunshine," Percy said to the homeless man, "your hair looks terrible when it's greasy."

The group shot him incredulous looks. Zoë glared at him.

"What in Hades, Arcus?" She asked angrily.

Then, the homeless man laughed heartily. "I knew I couldn't fool you P—Arcus. What gave it away?"

"The shiny teeth," Percy replied, feeling his stomach twist as Apollo nearly called him by his real name. What was the idiot thinking? Zoë was right there!

Zane looked confused. "Wait, who is this?"

The homeless mean winked and flashed a megawatt smile. "Fred."

Zoë's eyes widened. "That smile . . . Apollo?"

Apollo put a hand over his heart. "Zoë . . . you remember! I'm so touched, sweetheart!"

"Apollo," Percy warned, trying to save his mentor from losing his manhood to a hunter with a sharp knife.

He laughed, but stopped abruptly and furrowed his eyebrows. He looked at Zoë. "Are you alright?"

Zoë looked startled. "What? Um, yes?"

"Was that an answer of a question?" Apollo asked curiously.

"Answer," she replied, but she bit her bottom lip. Apollo had told Percy that it was a tell for when someone was lying. But what could possibly be wrong with Zoë?

Apollo frowned at her. "First off, you're lying to the god of truth. Second of all, you're lying to the god of medicine. You're fatally ill, huntress. I can feel the poison from here."


	10. Author's Note 2

**A/N: Hey, everyone. I'm having writer's block and I sort of lost inspiration for the story for the time being, so updates will be slow. If you want something to read, try The Twins or Rome. It's one of my other stories and I want to know what you guys think of it. I hope I can update soon! **

**-Sinister**


	11. Author's Note 3

**A/N: Hey people! Don't worry; this isn't anything bad about the story. I will definitely continue, but I still have writer's block . . . sorry about that haha. I have the next chapter about half done, but I'm having trouble. I'm also working on the Twins or Rome, and that chapter is nearly finished as well. I also have a new story.**

** It's called Heroes of Old. I posted it because I feel kinda terrible for DELETING The Resistance. I don't know what I was doing. Sorry if you read and like that story. Anyway, the Heroes of Old is taking the place of The Resistance, and is a post-apocalypse type story. I hope I can post quickly, but I'm juggling three stories (not the best idea, but hey, I do what I want) so go check that out during the wait. Hopefully the next chapter of CotS will come soon.**

** Thanks for reviewing and following/favoriting! Love you guys! **

**PS—Leave Heroes of Old some reviews. It's lonely. It's got zero so far.**

**-Sinister **


	12. Chapter 9

**A/N: I'M SO SORRY FOR THE MASSIVE CLIFFHANGER. Bet you didn't see that coming, huh? More will be explained either in this chapter of later ones. Anyway, shout out to everyone who's been here since chapter 1 went up; I LOVE YOU PEOPLE! Make sure to leave reviews! We broke 100 reviews! Thanks for reading, enjoy!**

**NOTE: During my writer's block for this story, I came up with a great idea for a new story. It's called ****The Twins of Rome****, and the first couple chapters are already up.**

**Summary:** **Jason, Thalia, and Percy Grace are all the children of Julia Grace, lover of Zeus/Jupiter. The twins, Jason and Percy, have to be separated from Thalia due to their Roman heritage. When the boys arrive at Camp Jupiter, they don't know that in a couple years' time, they will both be thrust into two wars and two prophecies. Did someone say love triangle? Eventually it's Percy/Reyna or Percy/Bianca. I haven't decided yet.**

**Heroes of Old**** Summary: ****The Fifth Age was doomed to fail from the beginning. When the gods grow lax, and the armies of Olympus are untrained and inexperienced, the divinities hold little hope for the survival of the Fifth Age. But when help comes from a being older than even them, a small plan is hatched—the last hope. Ten demigods were selected from Camp Half-Blood, and forced into deep hibernation. While in their long slumber, the gods of Olympus are overthrown by the Titan Kronos, and the Titans once again rule the Earth. While two demigods are placed in the outside world, the other eight are stashed in the Lotus Hotel, where they will be oblivious to what is occurring in the world. The ancient being sets her plan in motion by sending the two demigods in the outside world to release the Heroes of Old from the Lotus Hotel, putting her complex plan in motion.**

**But who, exactly, is the Queen?**

**Pairings: Percy/Annabeth OC/ Bianca OC/Thalia**

**Zoë's POV**

"W-What?" Zoë croaked out, feeling her blood freeze. She was . . . dying? Poisoned? How had she even—

Zoë suddenly felt weak in the knees. Okay, she was an immortal huntress, but it doesn't mean she was fearless; Zoë was scared now. No, _terrified_. Zoë felt her body slowly fall to the ground, partly from venom, partly from shock, her eyelids drooping a little. She felt warm arms catch her, and as she tried to keep her eyes open, she managed to see two, glowing green orbs.

It her state of delirium, she muttered to herself, "Such pretty eyes . . . like Perseus's."

Then, her world slowly turned black as incomprehensible and muffled voices talked back and forth frantically.

**Time Skip—Zoë's POV**

Zoë awoke slowly, listening to the steady and lulling thump of her pillow, and relishing in the warm feeling that was rising in her chest subconsciously. She felt ridiculous tired and sedated, like someone had pumped her full of anesthesia. She, at the same time, felt the effects of her mortality (not literal mortality, of course, she was still partially immortal); she felt sweat rolling off her in buckets and her muscles were weak and strained, like she had run a triathlon without any training.

She heard muffled voices around her and she managed to peek open her eyes a bit to see a dark hood. She jolted from her sleepy state and was immediately petrified, until the figure spoke to her in a surprisingly soft and caring tone.

"Shh, you're okay, Zoë. You're alright," the masculine voice assured her.

She frowned, and realized she was in the _boy's_ arms. She glared at his dark hood, unable to see anything but two glowing emerald eyes.

"Let go of me, you pervert! Where am I?" She asked angrily, still bewildered and delirious from her poison-induced nap.

It was Zoë's usual defense mechanism. She was in the arms of a boy, and she felt extremely vulnerable. She was weak and unarmed, and this male could easily over power her and have his way with her. So to compensate for her lack of physical ability, she began to yell insult after slur after offense.

"Zoë!" A feminine voice yelled, "Chill out! It's Arcus!"  
Zoë identified the voice as Phoebe. But she was a determined man-hater! Slowly the events of the quest came back to her, causing the heat to rise to her cheeks in embarrassment. She looked away from Arcus's piercing gaze, and buried her face into his chest. Her blood froze as soon as she did it.

What was she doing?

She was lieutenant of the hunt, for Artemis's sake! Why was she allowing herself to be weak in the arms of a male! And now she was hiding in his chest! And this ugly but warm feeling arose in her stomach that she hadn't felt since . . . Perseus. And it terrified her. What if this boy wasn't who he said he was?

Arcus was carrying her bridal style, and Zoë was madder at the fact that she _wasn't_ angry with him. She was angry that she _enjoyed_ it.

"You're going to be okay, Zoë," Arcus assured her.

Zoë bounced slightly with each of his steps. She once again turned her face into Arcus's chest, inhaling his sea scent that seemed to calm her down from her furious rage that occurred only several minutes before. She was silent for a while, her onyx eyes stuck on Arcus's chest, which was covered in his stygian iron armor. Where had she seen it before? It was so familiar . . . right on the tip of her tongue . . .

"How long was I out?" Zoë asked finally, her voice raspy and weak.

"Several hours," Arcus's gentle voice responded, "we are almost at the Garden of the Hesperides."

Zoë's head snapped up. "What did you just say?"

"We're going to the Garden of the Hesperides," He repeated, his head still facing wherever he was walking.

Zoë felt the blood rush to face in fury as she recalled her incident with Heracles, but the raging enflamed blood seemed to relax as she remembered Perseus saving her. What she wouldn't give to see him again . . .

"Let me down," Zoë ordered shakily, "I can walk."

Arcus probably rolled his eyes to match the amount of sarcasm in his next words.

"Sure you can. Just like how you could stand up back in the train yard. You know, the one that you collapsed in."

Zoë huffed in annoyance. "I'm fine," she insisted forcefully.

Arcus snorted. "You should see yourself. You're sweating like nuts because of the poison, and your face looks as white as snow. You aren't okay, Zoë. Just relax. I know you hate boys touching you, but I'm going to carry you anyway."

Zoë turned her face towards where they were walking so Arcus wouldn't see the scarlet color on her cheeks. He was being awfully kind . . . for a male.

Zoë clearly saw Bianca and Phoebe in front of them, but didn't see Zane.

Zoë's eyebrows knit together. "Where is the son of Zeus?"  
Arcus's grip tightened on her as she asked, indicating that something was clearly wrong. Zoë looked at Bianca, who was now glaring at the ground, seemingly trying to burn holes in it with her eyes. Phoebe continued walking, her facial expression only shifting slightly.

"He . . . he didn't make it," Arcus whispered to her.

Zoë felt a small twinge of sadness for the now deceased son of Zeus. Perhaps she hadn't like him, but that didn't necessarily mean she wanted him to die. The demititan comments hurt her terribly, but she was more loath to strangle the daughter of Athena rather than the son of Zeus. Zoë wasn't unintelligent; it was clear that Annabeth was the mastermind behind all the insults and hurtful actions that the two took up. It was that damned daughter of Athena's fault; she just knew it.

"What happened?" She inquired, eager to find out how the demigod passed on.

"Defective prototype of Talos," Arcus explained, "He sacrificed himself to save the rest of us. He went through a maintenance hatch on the bottom somehow controlled the thing. He ran it into power lines."

Zoë knew the implications behind the last sentence; Zane's death was most likely very painful. Death by electrocution . . . Zoë shuddered at the thought, and tried to push it away, but to no avail. Zoë was actually quite surprised the boy did something so noble. Zoë was getting more and more surprised; she had practically dubbed Arcus the perfect male, and Zane was winning more points. What was the world coming to? Zoë was dying. Zoë found a male she doesn't dislike. Zoë found a male she doesn't entirely dislike. Next thing you know, Hades will freeze over.

The group soon reached the beautiful and elegant garden just as the sun began to set. Zoë stared nostalgically at the place she had met Perseus, which was right outside the garden, just a few feet to her left. There was an empty hole where a pond used to be, making Zoë grin happily, despite her condition of health; Perseus had used that water to throw Heracles into the air all those years ago. There was a small indention in the ground where she remembered Perseus sliding backwards after one of Heracles's hits, but weeds had almost overtaken it.

Four beautiful girls shimmered into existence, almost looking identical to Zoë. In fact, the resemblance caused Bianca to look back and forth between the quartet and Zoë, as if she trying to figure out if she was seeing things.

"Sisters," Zoë greeted weakly.

"We see no sister," one on the left said harshly, "we see a traitor—a betrayer. Why do you disgrace us with your presence? Are you going to let _him_ steal an apple as well?"

She pointed a finger accusingly at Arcus, which filled her with malice. "I am dying, sisters," the quartet paled slightly at the revelation, but Zoë spoke before they could comment, "and I don't care what you think of me. We are trying to rescue Lady Artemis from Mount Tam. We have no need for the apples. Let us pass. This is my dying request, sisters."

The Hesperides stared in absolute shock. Zoë craned her head to look at Arcus.

"Put me down," She ordered.

She could almost picture him frowning. "But—"

"Now," Zoë interrupted.

Arcus gently leg go of her legs, and let them touch the ground. Zoë tried to put weight on her feet, but stumbled. Arcus quickly grabbed her, keeping her from falling. She shoved his arms off of her; she needed to do this alone. Her arms flailed a bit, trying to help keep her balance.

"Zoë," Phoebe said, "I don't think you should—"

"Please, Phoebe," Zoë pleaded, "I need to show them that I am strong, even in the face of death."

Zoë finally stopped flailing and took a shaky step without falling. Her muscles screamed with pain and her veins felt like liquid fire flowed through them, but grit her teeth and took another step, and another, and another. She finally stopped in front of her sisters.

"Let me pass."

The Hesperides just stared at her, all still in a stunned silence. Then, one in the back murmured sadly, "You're dying . . ."

Zoë glared at the one who spoke. "Let. Me. Pass. Now. I have a goddess to save—my _real_ family. Get out of my way, or I will wake Ladon myself."

Three moved aside, but one—the oldest, and the one who despised Zoë the most—stayed still, fixating her own glare on Zoë.

"No."

Silence.

"Ladon, awake!" Zoë shouted.

The oldest Hesperid's face morphed to an expression of sheer terror. "W-What have you d-done? He will kill you!"

Zoë scoffed. "As if you care if I live or die. I'm dying anyway. And I warned you that I would wake him if you didn't move. Now, when I die, you will have to live with the guilt. Have a nice immortal life, sister."

Zoë stumbled forward, the group following close behind her. Zoë's eyes sparkled in anticipation and anxiety as the hundred-headed monster slowly stood from its prone position, eying the group suspiciously.

"Go around while I distract him," Zoë ordered.

"We aren't—" Arcus began.

"Don't question me," Zoë commanded, her old personality showing once more: the leader side of her. Zoë knew what had to be done, and that Ladon would not kill her. She would die by her father's hand, just how the Oracle had predicted. Zoë would not leave this mountain. She only wished that she had another chance to see the only man she ever loved. She shook her head; no regrets now. Zoë had prepared herself for her sacrifice. All she hoped was that it would be enough to free her mistress.

"Ladon," She whispered soothingly, "Zoë has returned to you."

Zoë was vaguely aware of the group sneaking around Ladon, heading towards the pathway that led to the summit. Ladon whined a bit and turned his head sideways, like he was a confused puppy.

"Do you still like lamb, old friend?" Zoë asked, trying to keep her voice steady and pacifying.

Ladon licked his lips as if he was remembering the taste of lamb. Or maybe he was imagining what Zoë tasted like. She wasn't sure, but hoped it wasn't the latter. Ladon slowly edged his largest head—his main one—and sniffed at Zoë's outstretched hand. He then pushed his head forward a little, allowing her to pet his head gently. She urged Arcus silently to move faster; they were only halfway around Ladon. If they moved any faster, Ladon would notice them and burn them to a crisp.

She continued talking gently to Ladon until the other reached the path. Zoë paused as Arcus waved frenetically.

Her pause was fatal.

When he was no longer being petted, Ladon's head looked at Zoë in confusion. Some of the heads followed her gaze and hissed angrily when they noticed the intruders. Zoë's sixth sense kicked in, and she dove away just as Ladon's main head snapped at her. Just before it hit her, she felt a warm hand grabbed her own.

Then, she felt like she was pulled through a frigid blender. It was pitch-black for a second before the world reappeared. Zoë promptly collapsed due to the excessive spinning in her vision. She heard the roar of Ladon, and knew she had escaped him. But how had she—

Arcus's head appeared in her vision. "Gods, Zoë, you're almost as reckless as I am."

Zoë's laughed despite the situation. Gods, what was she doing? Her inner-huntress scolded her for laughing with a man, but the lovesick part of her just cooed in adoration.

"How did you even—"

"I shadow travelled and got you. It was my first time, actually. It was . . . weird," Bianca commented, who Zoë noticed was sitting beside her on her butt. Bianca's skin was pale, and sweat beaded on her forehead. Zoë noted that shadow travel must take a lot of energy for untrained demigods.

"We're almost to the top," Phoebe remarked, staring up the path. About fifty yards ahead the past reached the summit, where Artemis would be under the weight of the world.

Zoë stumbled again, but Bianca caught her and held her upright. Arcus drew his Stygian iron sword while Phoebe loosely notched an arrow. Bianca drew a sword with her free arm, and Zoë weakly grasped one of her knives. Anaklusmos felt heavy in her back pocket, but she knew she was too weak to wield it. She could barely hold the knife without dropping it, so she was even going to attempt to hold the sword.

When the reached the top, they found Artemis. She was on her knees, her hands just slightly above her head. Her jaw was clenched and her chest heaved. Buckets of sweat poured down the goddess's face, and her face was paler than it should have been. Artemis's auburn hair was matted with dirt and sweat, dangling in tangled curls.

"Milady!" Zoë cried weakly, trying to walk to her.

Artemis's head snapped up. "Trap . . . you must . . . leave . . . before—"

"Before what, my dear Artemis?" A voice boomed, cutting the moon goddess off midsentence.

A single being shimmered into existence, right next to Artemis. He was a tall and broad-shouldered man, with raven hair that was slicked back. He wore an expensive-looking suit that fit him tightly, as if he was trying to show off his muscles. A Rolex watch rested on his wrist, and a pen hung on his front pocket. If Zoë hadn't recognized him, she would have guessed that a random mortal businessman had stumbled into the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Atlas," Zoë spat.

Atlas's mouth grew into a wide smirk. "Ah, the traitor. Hello, daughter. Have you come to die? I believe the prophecy stated that, am I right?"

Zoë opened her mouth, but Arcus cut her off. "She will not die today."

Atlas turned and looked critically at Arcus. "Hmm. Son of Poseidon . . . champion of Apollo . . . and blessed by Hades? What a rather odd combination. And on top of that, you were born in the BCE's as a Spartan . . . your mother was murdered by Ares and—"

"No," Arcus interrupted, all emotion gone from his voice, "Ares did not kill my mother. That was Zeus's fault. Ares spared me and later apologized. The war god has my respect and forgiveness for killing my mother. The blame lies with Zeus, and Zeus alone."

Atlas was quiet again, before a shocked, and mischievous smile graced his lips.

"Gods, you are _him_!"

Arcus was probably frowning. "Pardon?"

"The one who obliterated Heracles at the Garden of the Hesperides! The one who saved her," Atlas said pointing at Arcus.

Zoë's eyes grew wide, and her heart froze.

"N-No," Arcus tried to assure Atlas, "I'm not him. His name was—"

Atlas flicked his hand, blowing Arcus's hood back, revealing his entire face. He had tousled raven hair, and mesmerizing sea green eyes that entranced Zoë. His face was tan and lean, just how she remembered.

"Perseus," She whispered softly, completing Perseus's unfinished sentence.

The whole time, she wished to see Perseus just one last time . . .

He was there the _whole time_, protecting her, just like he promised.


	13. Chapter 10

** A/N: To tell you the truth, I absolutely love your replies as I leave you with a cliffhanger. It's so cruel of me, but it makes me laugh (insert evil, diabolical laugh here). Sorry! HERE IS CHAPPPPPTERRRR TENNNNN! Yeah! **

**Okay, this will probably be the second to last chapter. The Winter Solstice will be the next one, and will probably be shorter than the other chapters. Then I will add an epilogue. **

**I know all of you will be upset to see this story end, so when this one is over, please please pleeeeease go try ****The Twins of Rome****, one of my other stories. It's got four chapters so far. So please review for both this story and the other! Enjoy!**

**PS: ****Heroes of Old**** didn't start how I wanted it to. I'm taking it down and restarting. Expect a third story! It might have a name change though, so just look for a third story. Sorry!**

**Percy's POV**

When Atlas flicked Percy's hood off, he immediately wished he was a turtle so he could just hide in his shell. No doubt Zeus and the other gods were watching this, and Zeus's next move would be to figure out why he willingly helped Hades, and won't then find out that Bianca and Nico were his children. On top of that, Zoë looked like she was about to cry. I was both relieved and worried; Zoë knew I was Perseus, but Bianca and Nico were in extreme danger now.

Atlas let out a booming laugh. "You're the one my daughter fell in love with?"

Phoebe whirled on Zoë, glaring at her in betrayal. "You fell in love? How? Why?"

Zoë just continued staring at Percy, tears running down her cheeks. While Phoebe and Bianca watched Atlas to make sure he didn't make any sudden movements, Percy bent down and wrapped his arms around her tightly, which then caused her to burst into tears. It was almost a hysterical sobbing, like when someone finds out that the love of his or her life isn't dead. Yeah. Like that.

"Y-You're real," Zoë whispered, her teary eyes gazing up at Percy's, "you're alive."

"I am," Percy confirmed, tears of his own forming, "and I still love you."

Zoë's mouth fell open slightly, and she was about to reply, but was interrupted.

"Oi! Get your hands off my soon-to-be-girl!" A new voice called.

Percy turned his head and felt fury course through his veins when he recognized the huge form of Heracles, standing next to Atlas. His eyes widened when Annabeth stood next to him, glaring at Zoë. Then, Percy's eyes about popped out of his head. Zane—the Zane who supposedly died in the defective Talos—was standing next to Annabeth, his sword drawn.

Percy felt betrayed. He thought he made progress with Zane when they talked in the van earlier in the quest, but Percy obviously didn't. Had Zane lied about everything? All the stuff he said about Zoë and Miranda? He was just manipulating Percy into thinking that he wasn't a threat. Percy mentally berated himself for letting his guard down so easily.

Zane looked hesitant, however, like he wasn't exactly sure what he was doing. His eyes kept anxiously flicking between Annabeth and Percy, as if he was expecting them to grow a second head or something.

"I will take great pleasure in dismembering you limbs," Heracles taunted, "and then making that huntress my immortal wife afterward."

Percy glared at him for a moment, before swiveling his head towards Zane.

"You, traitor," Percy spat.

Zane actually looked hurt for a second, but he quickly recovered and plastered a sneer on his face. "You're an idiot for thinking I was actually on your side."

"So you lied about everything? You actually did hit that little girl, and you actually despise Zoë for being a demititan? I actually mourned you when you supposedly died." Percy said, his voice laced with betrayal.

His group looked shocked, and Zane shook his head. "I didn't lie _or_ die. Annabeth provoked the fight so she could find an opening. And I'm a son of Zeus. Did you actually believe I could be electrocuted to death?"

Percy inwardly punched himself in the face for not realizing that he was immune to electricity.

"An opening?" Phoebe asked curiously.

Annabeth snorted and pulled something out of her pocket and tossed it to Percy. It clattered to the ground and rolled to his feet, and he grabbed it. It was an empty syringe.

"What is this?" Percy wondered aloud.

Annabeth chuckled a bit. "Damn, you're slow. I was invisible during that fight. While Zane distracted Zoë, I invisibly inserted some lethal toxin into her bloodstream. It was risky; I expected her to feel it and turn around, but she kept fighting. She probably thought Zane had somehow hit her. It was a risk I was willing to take in order to kill one of our biggest adversaries. Now we have recruited a son of Zeus, and we are about to kill the son of Poseidon and daughter of Hades. After that, we will kill that annoying son of Hades and then the daughter of Zeus. That way, we will have the only child of the Big Three on our side. It's an inevitable defeat for you. A plan worthy of Athena."

The group stared in shock, and Percy noticed Zoë's eyes widening in realization as she rubbed the back of her neck. Percy continued glaring at Zane, who involuntarily flinched, which satisfied the son of Poseidon.

"You will not be able to kill any of us today," Phoebe sated confidently, leveling her bow at Zane.

Atlas's clothes morphed into grand battle armor with gold coloring. His pen that was in his front pocket transformed into a javelin, and his Rolex watch slowly unwound to form a circular hoplite shield, about the size of a manhole. Annabeth drew a new dagger, while Zane's sword crackled with electricity. Heracles swung his club around cockily, probably imagining it bashing Percy's head in.

The sky was darkening, and the sun was almost completely below the horizon. Percy's sword was taking advantage of that, and started making the shadows swirl around. Phoebe kept her eyes on Zane, while Bianca eyed Annabeth with a rather frightening gleam in her eyes. Percy guessed that it was a child of Hades thing.

"Stay out of the fight, Zoë," Percy commanded without turning, "the poison has weakened you too much."

"But—"

"Zoë, please," Percy begged, turning slightly so he could see her. She was still on the ground, looking like a vulnerable little girl. It made Percy just want to pick her up and run away, but she would kill him for leaving Artemis and the others behind.

Zoë tried to hold her glare, but failed. "Fine," she agreed.

Percy turned to see Atlas smirking. "Shall we?"

**Zane's POV**

The fight kicked off quickly; Percy went for Atlas and Heracles, while Bianca rushed at Annabeth. Phoebe began firing arrows at Zane, but he managed to dive behind a rock. Arrow plinked off the stone, getting closer each time. He reached up and over his shoulder with his hand and fired a bolt of lightning, and heard a soft grunt.

He rolled out from behind the rock and hurled another bolt, striking the bow in Phoebe's hand. Her bow flew off the side of the mountain, forcing her to draw her knives. Without a word, the two clashed, sword on knives. Phoebe was swift and lethal, but Zane was an experienced fighter.

They exchanged blows, both about even when it came to skill. Phoebe overextended on one swing, allowing Zane to have an opportunity. He swung with his free hand, slamming his knuckles into Phoebe's cheek. Her head snapped away and one of her daggers dropped. She reached to grab it, but and stomped his foot on it. He immediately brought his other foot up, driving his knee into her jaw. Phoebe let out a shriek of pain before falling onto her back. Zane quickly straddled her, wrenching her remaining weapon out of her hand.

Zane raised his sword, preparing to drive it into Phoebe's chest. Then he saw the glint in her eye—the acceptance. This girl was prepared to die for Artemis. What had she done wrong? Why did the huntress deserve to be killed? Why was _Zane_ about to kill her? He had nothing against the girl.

His heart throbbed as he thought about killing her. He felt a deep pain in his stomach—the one that always shows up when you have done something terribly, terribly wrong.

That was why Zane didn't kill Phoebe: his conscience saved her. Zane had an epiphany, so to speak, and recalled what Percy had said to him back in the van. Percy had treated him like a friend, not the camp bully. Percy set aside their differences and comforted him when he needed it. Zane had been suspecting he made a terrible decision a logn time ago, but he now realized it entirely.

He was about to _kill_ someone. Another human—a demigod. Zane remembered how his mother used to tell him how much of a kind soul he was before she died. Was he? Was he indirectly betraying his mother?

Again, why was the point of his sword at her chest? What could he have possible done in his life to end up like this? A murderer. A coward. A traitor. A pawn.

_No_, he thought, _this ends now. I will bide my time._

Zane swiftly slammed the hilt of his sword into Phoebe's temple, knocking her into Morpheus's realm.

**Percy's POV**

Percy's fighting was flawless until his sword cracked and shattered. He had been fighting for several minutes until he was forced to hastily throw up his sword in front of a blow coming from Heracles; the wooden club smashed through the sword, and hit Percy in the chest, knocking him backwards.

"Percy!" He heard Zoë call.

He turned and saw a glint in the air, and instinctively reached out an snagged it. It quickly elongated into a three-foot long, bronze sword. It's hilt was grandiloquent, a mixture of gold and bronze, with a leather grip. It felt perfect in his hands—more balanced than his now deceased old sword. A single Greek word was imprinted on the blade, close to the hilt: Anaklusmos. Riptide.

Percy expected that one of his enemies would take a swing at him when he turned, so he instinctively swung the sword without looking. Atlas's javelin was slapped away by the sword, forcing him to step back. Atlas sneered at the sword, while Heracles eyed it angrily.

"You wield my blade, sea spawn," Heracles roared, charging him.

"No," Percy replied, sidestepping Heracles's reckless charge, "this sword belongs to Zoë Nightshade."

Percy swung his sword in a downward arc, slicing through Heracles's back. He immediately turned back to Atlas, fast enough to parry another strike. While Heracles collapsed, yelling in pain, Percy frowned at Atlas.

"You sure do like attacking when I'm not looking. What? Too cowardly to fight me while I'm paying attention?"

Percy had adeptness in insulting his enemies, trying to provoke them. Everyone knew that more mistakes would be made if his or her enemy were blinded by rage. Atlas scowled at him, and swung his javelin in wide arc, forcing Percy to duck. Percy didn't expect Atlas to follow up with a kick, so the sole of Atlas's boot pushed Percy backwards violently.  
He vaguely heard a feminine scream, and pegged it as Annabeth's. He hoped she was hurt terribly by Bianca. _That's my B_, Percy thought fondly. Percy was brought out of his thoughts by an incoming javelin. Percy twisted out of the way, and then jabbed with his sword. Atlas blocked it with the shaft of his javelin, and thrust again, grazing Percy's side with the spearhead. While it was an insignificant wound, it hurt like Hades. Percy stepped back, hoping to get a little breathing room.

That's when he realized his mistake; he had forgotten about Heracles.

The club hit him in his lower back, evoking an almost inhuman sound of pain. He tumbled forward in front of Artemis, and quickly stood up, trying to ignore the raging pain inside of his back. He was surprised his spinal cord hadn't been snapped by the sheer power of Heracles's swing, but he decided not to ponder it.

His side was bleeding, and his back was aching; Percy then remembered part of the prophecy.

_The Titan's Curse must one withstand._

Atlas let out a booming laugh, realizing that he and Heracles had cornered Percy by Artemis.

"What now, son of the sea god? Are you prepared to die?" He goaded.

Percy backed up, until he was just a foot from Artemis. Barely turning his head, he whispered, "Artemis, let me take the sky. I'm not strong enough to fight both of them."

"It will kill you," She whispered back.

"Just do it," He urged.

Percy dropped Riptide and quickly crouched by Artemis, and shoved her out from under the sky, allowing the full weight of the sky to crash down on his shoulders. The pain was immense; there were no words to describe the burning sensation that affected each and all of his muscles. His bones groaned with pain, and his tendons threatened to tear under the pressure of the sky.

Artemis took up the battle, whirling and slashing like an elegant ballerina dancer—only a lot more lethal.

The rest of the battle was slurred and vague to Percy; the sky took most of his concentration, so he found it hard to pay attention. When he finally got most of the pain under control, his hazy vision could make out the battlefield.

Heracles had been subdued; Annabeth was unconscious, as was Phoebe. Bianca and Zane were fighting hard, but both seemed to be matched. Bianca would shadow travel around him, barely avoiding his lightning. Bianca was small and quicker, forcing Zane to go on defense. Percy assumed the battle could have gone on forever if they had no interruptions.

Artemis had Atlas cornered by Percy, and she mentally warned Percy that she was about to force Atlas under the sky again. As a last resort, Atlas tried to stab Artemis, but a silver arrow struck the spearhead with deadly accuracy, forcing the strike to miss the goddess of the hunt's torso. Atlas roared in pain, his frightening, coal-black eyes glaring daggers at his daughter, who was holding her silver bow.

"I will kill you for that, daughter of mine!" Atlas screamed with rage.

Artemis took that chance to try and stab Atlas, but he sidestepped and bashed her head with the butt of his javelin. She stumbled back several feet, trying to regain her composure. Atlas reared back and hurled his javelin—probably sensing that the fight was hopeless, and he thought he might be able to take Artemis down with him—at Artemis's small form.

Artemis expertly dove out of the way, and came back up in a ready position by rolling mid-dive. She charged Atlas, and exchanged a couple hand-to-hand blows.

_Get ready_, Artemis warned Percy in his mind.

Percy couldn't even form a coherent thought to respond. Artemis let herself be pushed to the ground, and "accidently" dropped one of her knives. Atlas scooped up the dagger and raised it over his head, preparing for a deadly downward strike that would end Artemis.

"The first blood of the war!" Atlas shouted with glee.

As he swung downward, Artemis twisted and rolled, kicking one of his legs, knocking him off balance. She placed her other foot in front of his leg—the one that was still on the ground—and shoved him from behind, causing his to trip and face plant directly next to Percy, and under the sky.

Percy let go of the weight of the sky, and fell just in front of Atlas in an exhausted heap. He distantly heard Atlas roar with pain as the sky landed on his back, but he was busy trying to blink the black spots out of his vision.

He looked up in time to see Heracles grab Annabeth and Zane, and quickly flashing away just before Artemis got to them. She cursed in ancient Greek, but quickly came to Percy's side.

"Are you alright?"

Percy smiled weakly. "Never better."

They smiled, until the heard Bianca's panicked cry. "PERCY!"

Percy's head snapped up, as did Artemis's. Percy's blood ran cold, and his exhaustion seemed to fade away, being replaced by an adrenaline rush that was set in motion by a strong aggregate of fear. He barely registered the fact that he shoved the goddess of the hunt out of the way—a bad idea in hindsight—or the fact that he was already crying.

Lying on the ground, pale with blood loss, and with Atlas's javelin embedded in her stomach, was Zoë Nightshade, the famous lieutenant of Artemis, and the only girl Percy has ever, and will ever love.

**A/N: I'm sooooooo sorry. I think you guys might kill me if I do any more cliffhangers, but I couldn't resist on this one. Anyway, the whole spear thing reminds me of the Hunger Games, and the death of Rue. I don't know why, but it did. Okay, I will hopefully have the next chapter up soon. So please favorite/follow and review! I LOVE REVIEWS!**


	14. Chapter 11

**A/N: Chapter Eleven! Winter Solstice! I hope you guys like it! I also thought I would tell you the stats of this story, since you can't see some of them. This story has been very successful, with 38,000 views, 337 followers, 236 favorites, and 129 reviews as of now (I wrote this just after I posted the last chapter). Thank you so much!**

** And I loved your reactions to the cliffhanger . . . they made me laugh.**

**Percy's POV**

Pain.

Unimaginable, unfathomable, crippling pain.

That was the only feeling that coursed through Percy's body as his eyes landed on Zoë, with Atlas's javelin protruding from her stomach. He rushed to her side, along with Artemis and Bianca.

Zoë's teary eyes met Percy's, just as he choked out, "No . . . you can't die,"

Zoë gave him a weak smile. "I-It was prophesized . . . I-I can't beat f-fate."

Salty tears began to flow down Percy's cheeks. "I love you."

Zoë flashed him another feeble smile, her energy leaving her. "I l-love you too, even after all these y-years, P-Perseus."

For a moment, the gravity of the situation slammed down on Percy's shoulders, even stronger than the weight of the sky had earlier. For a moment, he let the pessimistic side of him take over, and silently accepted that Zoë was going to die, and he would be left alone once more. But as quickly as it came, it was shoved away by the more optimistic and hopeful side of him. His determination solidified—Zoë Nightshade would _not_ die today.

Percy turned to Artemis. "Can't you heal her?" He asked hopefully, his mind racing to come up with a plan.

Artemis shook her head, her teary eyes focused on her dying lieutenant, and best friend. "No. Well—no, not entirely."

"Explain," Percy prompted.

"I'm weak after holding the sky. I have enough energy to heal the javelin wound, but not enough to expel the poison. Or vice versa. I could only gain enough energy to heal both by a sacrifice—but not just any sacrifice. It has to be something big—something so monumental that it would reenergize me entirely, something like—"

"Immortality?" Percy interrupted quietly.

Artemis's words stopped, and her mouth slowly closed. "Yes, but why—"

Her eyes widened in realization. "You cannot seriously be willing to—"

"I am," Percy confirmed.

Artemis gazed at him worriedly. "Perseus, as much as I want you to heal Zoë, I urge you not to do this. By taking your immortality away, you will become the eldest child of the Big Three. You will become the prophecy child."

Percy nodded. "Anything to save her."

Artemis nodded and closed her eyes. "Perseus, please give up your immortality."

Luckily, Apollo had told Percy what to do if he ever wished to give up his immortality, for whatever reason. He told him to be specific when giving it up, so the energy could be channeled into the correct being.

"I, Perseus Jackson, forfeit my partial immortality to Artemis, goddess of the moon, in order to heal Zoë Nightshade," Percy stated.

The warm, golden glow that usually surrounded Percy faded, and Artemis glowed silver. Her silver-yellow eyes snapped open, pulsing with energy. She let out a rare and bright smile.

"It will work."

Artemis placed one hand on Zoë's wound making Zoë squirm uncomfortably. Percy rested her head in his lap, and slowly ran his fingers through her hair.

"It's okay," Percy whispered, "you're going to survive."

Zoë's volcanic black eyes gleamed with happiness as she gazed at Percy. Artemis placed her second hand on Zoë's chin. She closed her eyes and began chanting in ancient Greek—one of Apollo's hymns to be exact—and Zoë began to glow with silver.

"Now, Bianca," Artemis ordered.

"Sorry, Zoë," Bianca apologized.

Before Zoë could reply, Bianca pulled the javelin out of Zoë's stomach, evoking a painful scream. Percy snatched Zoë's hand and began to trace comforting circles with his thumb, and lightly pressed his lips to her forehead.

"It'll be over soon," Percy told her.

Zoë's body glowed again with a silver light, and the wound slowly shrank, inch by inch. The skin and muscles slowly regenerated, filling the gaping hole in her torso. Percy sighed with relief, already filled with glee at the thought of Zoë being okay.

Artemis was pale and sweating profusely—she wasn't the goddess of medicine, so Percy assumed that stepping into Apollo's domain was really draining her, even though Apollo was her brother.

Artemis then switched hymns, and Zoë began to pulse with silver energy from the inside. Suddenly, Zoë's mouth opened, and green liquid slowly rose out of it and into the air. Deciding to help Artemis, Percy used his control of water to move the poisonous liquid away from Zoë, so it wouldn't drop on her if Artemis lost concentration.

"I don't mean to interrupt," Bianca said, "But the winter solstice will begin soon, Lady Artemis."

Artemis nodded, unable to speak while performing the healing hymn. After a while, poison stopped coming out of Zoë's mouth. Artemis plopped down, breathing and sweating heavily. Her auburn hair was matted to her face, and her hands shook slightly due to her exhaustion.

Zoë sat up experimentally, and a smile grew across her face. First she tackled Artemis in a hug, who laughed and cried at the same time. Then she leaned back, and turned to Percy. Their eyes met, and she flung herself into him. Percy tilted her chin and pressed his lips to hers indulging himself in something he had been deprived of for thousands of years.

His arms snaked around her waist, while she wrapped her arms around his neck. Percy felt Zoë smile in the kiss. When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against hers.

"We're together again," He whispered with smile.

Zoë's eyes twinkled with excitement. They were jolted back to reality when they heard a cleared throat. Percy's blood froze; he had just kissed Artemis's lieutenant in _front_ of Artemis, who happened to be the world's largest man-hater. Percy slowly pulled his forehead away from Zoë, and nervously glanced at Artemis.

To his surprise, she was smiling in amusement. "As disgusting as I think that is, I approve of your relationship. But never kiss like that in front of me again. Ever."

Percy gulped and then nodded frantically.

Artemis smirked. "Good. Now we have a winter solstice to get to. And gods of Olympus, someone wake up Phoebe!"

**Time Skip—Percy's POV**

"I want them dead. They are a threat of Olympus. And Hades broke the pact."

Poseidon bristled with anger. "You have broken the pact twice. And actually, Hades didn't break his oath. They were in the Lotus Hotel and Casino. They were born in the 1940's brother. You are the only one at fault."

Zeus glared at the god of the sea. "Did you not hear me? They are a threat to Olympus!"

"So if you kill Nico and Bianca, you will have to kill your own daughter, plus Percy," Apollo said, "would you truly want to murder your daughter just because she is powerful?"

Zeus faltered. The demigods in the center of the throne room watched the argument like a tennis match, all anxiously awaiting the verdict. Percy clutched Zoë's hand like it was his lifeline—in a way, it was—and Bianca began to sweat nervously. Thalia was glaring at her father, waiting to hear his answer to Apollo's question.

"Yes."

Silence.

"I want them rewarded, not killed," Artemis stated, "if we kill our saviors and children, we are no better than the Titans. Kronos is rising, and we need our children, no matter how much you wish you didn't, father. They are necessary for our survival."

Hermes nodded in agreement. "I second that. The heroes should be compensated for their bravery, not executed."

Zeus sighed. "A vote, then. All in favor of not killing the demigods?"

Artemis and Apollo raised their hands in unison. Poseidon's went up next, followed by Hermes and Demeter. Ares lifted his hand without hesitation, giving Percy a slight nod of acknowledgment.

"All in favor of executing the threats?" Zeus asked next.

Poseidon rolled his eyes at the word "threats." Dionysus and Hera raised their hands just after Zeus. Hephaestus raised his hand next.

"Aphrodite?" Zeus asked.

"I'm tweeting. Don't bother me," she ordered without looking up from her IPhone.

Poseidon smiled triumphantly. "The heroes will live!"

The gods who voted for them to survive cheered happily, while the other rolled their eyes of huffed in annoyance and defeat.

"Now," Zeus said, "will someone recount the quest? Please do not leave out any details."

After Percy finished explaining the quest, Zeus looked flabbergasted. "My son has betrayed us?"

As Zeus began to vent and curse his son, Percy heard Athena mutter, "My own daughter . . ."

The meeting went on afterwards; it was mostly about Kronos, and the gods were splitting up tasks among themselves in order to prolong the period of time in which Kronos was not in his true form. Finally the meeting came to a close.

"You are dismisse—" Zeus began.

"Wait," Artemis interrupted, "I have one more matted to discuss."

Zeus looked peeved about being interrupted, but nodded for Artemis to go on.

"I am in need of a new lieutenant," Artemis said.

The gods and goddesses looked at her confusedly. Athena pointed at Zoë.

"She's right there."

"Yes, thank you for pointing that out, Athena," Artemis said with an amused smile.

The other gods chuckled at Athena's pink cheeks.

"It seems my lieutenant had discovered love. And because of that, I need a new one. And the first girl I would like to ask is Thalia Grace," Artemis continued.

Thalia's electric-blue eyes grew so wide with surprise that it was almost comical. "Milady?"

Artemis smiled and then looked at Zeus. Zeus looked peeved again—probably because his daughter was being "stolen" by his other daughter—but sighed.

"Thalia, dear, would you like to join the Hunters of Artemis as their new lieutenant?" Zeus asked her.

Thalia nodded enthusiastically. "Yes."

Thalia quickly recited the hunters' oath, and she glowed silver. The silver light left Zoë as well, making Percy smile lovingly. She was all his now . . .

Zeus looked around. "I suppose no one else has any more to say? No? Okay. Well, Perseus Jackson, I wish you luck as the child of the prophecy. I knew I should have killed you when Athena found you . . . whatever. Goodbye."

The gods flashed out. Poseidon remained, and gave Percy a tight hug.

"You did great Percy. I'm sure you'll make a great child of the prophecy. You'll make the correct choice," Poseidon said as he released his son from the bear-hug.

"Thanks dad. Can you flash us back to camp?" Percy asked.

Poseidon nodded, and they were soon back on Half-Blood Hill.

**Time Skip—Percy's POV**

Percy and the others were practically mobbed when they returned, so he and Zoë hadn't got a moment alone. They stayed by each other, ignoring the questioning stares of the campers. Finally, the others headed off to bed, but Percy left Zoë to the beach.

Instead of saying something, Percy just pulled Zoë into a kiss, trying to convey his feelings that way. Needless to say, Zoë understood.

"Percy," She said, after they finished the kiss, "I never got to formally thank you for saving my life . . . I don't think anyone else would have done that, knowing they would become the prophecy child. Th-Thank you," she whispered, tears forming.

Percy pulled her to his chest. "You don't need to thank me."

She shook her head and pushed him away slightly. "N-No, I do. You have always protected me, and I-I've never done anything to deserve it, and—"

"Zoë," Percy interrupted, his sea green eyes shining brightly in the moon lit night, "I love you. And you love me. That's all I need as thanks. Okay?"

Zoë nodded, and Percy hugged her once more, burying his face in her neck. "We'll be okay," he whispered, "we'll make it through this prophecy."

And he truly believed it.


	15. Chapter 12

**A/N: Epilogue! I might do a second epilogue. It will be an epilogue to an epilogue. If that makes any sense at all. Anyway, enjoy! **

**Also, check out The Twins of Rome! I will be working on that story after I finish this one.**

**NOTE (PLEASE READ): This was originally an epilogue, but I decided to make it a chapter. It was really choppy and rushed, so I need to smooth it out. Sorry for the crappy ending to story that (in my opinion) was the best I've ever written. I'm sorry once again for the terrible ending. The last epilogue will stay the same because I am happy with that one. Thanks.**

**Time Skip—Approximately Two Years Later**

**Percy's POV**

The war was tough on everyone, especially Percy and Zoë. First there was the labyrinth, where they met Daedalus. There was a long quest; one which involved deep mazes, rather frightening snake-dragon ladies, and insane, obese sons of Poseidon and Gaea. Overall, the quest was a success; they stopped Luke from launching an attack on Camp Half-Blood from the inside, but they really only slowed Kronos down. Percy knew for a fact that Kronos had many more tricks up his sleeve, and that the war was far from over.

Nico convinced Percy to bathe in the Styx (Zoë became his anchor, obviously) in order to become almost entirely invulnerable, like Luke was. Like progressed, as did Percy's and Zoë's relationship. Nearly everyone knew of the relationship between them, and only an idiot wouldn't notice. Since Zoë lacked a cabin, Chiron (reluctantly) permitted Zoë to stay with Percy, and allowed and exception to the rule about a boy and a girl being in the same cabin alone.

They never did anything (Percy had to much respect for Zoë to try something like that), but they would often wake up in the same bed, not really knowing how they got there. Although, neither complained because they actually liked being that close to their other half.

Eventually, the time came.

It started with a search and destroy with Beckendorf—they were supposed to blow up Luke's yacht, the Princess Andromeda. Sadly, they were discovered quickly, and only Percy was able to get off the ship was alive. Beckendorf sacrificed himself to blow up the ship, most likely killing hundreds—maybe even a thousand—monsters with the Greek fire containers that were strapped to the engines. Percy recovered in Atlantis, and was astonished to see what how terrible his father's condition was.

Percy remembered how his usual dark hair was grey and withered, and his sea green eyes were dark and exhausted whirlpools. Percy knew that a god's condition reflected the condition of his domain, so Percy figured the situation with Oceanus was worse that he let on. He had a quick meeting with Amphitrite—she was more interested in his girlfriend than the war itself—and said a quick goodbye to Triton before returning to the surface.

After he bathed in the Styx, Percy and the other older demigods of the camp raced to defend Olympus, while the other Olympians fought to slow Typhon from reaching Olympus. Poseidon fought his own war down in Atlantis, struggling to hold back that massive army or Oceanus that had been amassed over thousands of years, including the lethal Kraken. For the time being, Poseidon was occupied, and would not be able to assist his fellow Olympians in slowing the massive storm known as Typhon.

Percy and the others fought for hours on end against the oncoming horde of monsters and enemy demigods. Percy ended up bribing two river gods, who then sank the incoming ships in Kronos's army.

With the naval threat out of the way, Percy went to one of the bridges, on which Zoë took a poisoned knife for him—one that would have hit his Achilles heel. Needless to say, Percy went on an automated destructive rampage, practically decimating the entire regiment of monsters on the bridge, including the Minotaur. He channeled his ire into each and every strike, making each one more powerful than the last. Eventually, Kronos retreated down the bridge, and a brave son of Apollo sacrificed himself to blow it to smithereens.

Later on, when the group of demigods was about to be killed, Nico managed to convince Hades to rise to their defense. The Lord of the Dead and his skeletal armies drove through the ranks of Kronos's army, destroying large numbers of soldiers. Soon afterward, the Party Ponies arrived, chasing parts of the army away with Nerf guns, silly string spray cans, and paintball guns.

However, their element of surprise didn't last long. Kronos eventually pushed them farther back, forcing Percy and Zoë to retreat to the throne room to defend the seats of power, as well as Bessie, from Kronos. Right before Kronos reached the throne room, Percy sat on Poseidon's throne, risking being incinerated.

Percy couldn't exactly explain—at least not with words—the feeling he got when he sat on Poseidon's throne. The power of the sea seemed to flow through him, energizing him more than he could have possibly imagined. Percy felt like he was having a constant adrenaline rush; his body felt powerful and swift, like he could fight Typhon and Kronos at the same time and beat them both with one hand tied behind his back. As quick as the feeling came, it faded, and Poseidon appeared briefly.

After some convincing, Poseidon agreed to aid his Olympians and let to combat Typhon. After that, Kronos, Annabeth, and Zane appeared in the doorway. The exchanged blows for a while—maybe thirty or so minutes—until both sides stepped back for a breather. Percy decided it was time to show Kronos that he lost. He quickly started and Iris message by using the water from Bessie's aquarium, and told her to show them Typhon.

And this is where our story begins once more

"You're beaten, Kronos," Percy said, holding Anaklusmos tightly in his hand.

Kronos stood by Zeus's throne, flanked by Zane and Annabeth, who were sweating from the intense fighting. Zoë stood next to Percy, her knives drawn.

Kronos angrily swiped through the message, causing it to evaporate. Kronos had just seen Poseidon take down Typhon. Poseidon had reluctantly left Atlantis, which was being attacked by Oceanus, and went to help out the other gods. Later on, Percy would learn that Triton valiantly defended Atlantis and defeated both Oceanus and the Kraken.

Kronos gave a roar of anger and charged Percy with his scythe, while Zane and Annabeth moved towards Zoë. Percy parried Kronos's first attack, and the sheer force behind it caused his bones and muscles to groan in pain. Percy experimentally jabbed forward, but Kronos easily swatted away his blade before slamming Percy's head with the butt of his scythe. Percy stumbled back, and hastily threw up Anaklusmos, barely deflecting a blow that would have severed his head from his body. Kronos feinted left, but Percy wasn't stupid enough to fall for that. What he didn't expect was for Kronos to kick him in the stomach as Percy lifted his sword to block Kronos's strike. The power behind the kick sent Percy flying into the throne room walls. He dropped to the floor, pretty sure that he cracked the wall. Luckily, nothing hit him in the small of his back, so he wasn't too severely hurt.

Percy groaned in pain, and sat up on his elbows, blinking the spots from his vision. Then, Kronos laughed: random, uproarious laughter. When Kronos noticed Percy's confused expression, he said, "When's the last time you checked on your girlfriend, sea spawn?"

Percy head snapped to his right, and saw that she was cornered, disarmed. Fear coursed through his veins and invaded each and every thought. After all they had been through, Zoë was just going to . . . die? He was helpless; Olympus was cracking now, causing holes to riddle the marble throne room floor. A long, jagged trench cut the room in half, keeping Percy from reaching Zoë. Annabeth had a cruel and satisfied glint in her eye, like she had been waiting a long time to kill the huntress. Zane was next to her, but he kept glancing at Annabeth, not Zoë.

"Permission to kill, milord?" Annabeth asked Kronos, not taking her eyes off of Zoë.

Kronos chuckled, "Permission granted."

Percy watched in horror as Annabeth lunged, preparing to stab Zoë in the chest. Suddenly, Zoë was pushed aside, and a pained grunt tore through the room. Standing in front of Zoë was Zane, with Annabeth's knife hilt-deep in his chest. All was silent for a moment, and Zane sucked in a pained breath. He turned his head towards Percy, blood beginning to pour from the corners of his mouth.

"Percy . . . I'm sorry," he whispered quietly.

Then, using the last little bit of energy he had, he flung himself at an astonished Annabeth, and tackled her. The throne room was torn apart during the fighting, and there were copious amounts of holes. However, only a few were large enough for someone to fall through. Unfortunately for Annabeth, the biggest hole—one large enough to allow two people to plummet through it—was behind her. Percy watched in absolute shock as Zane tackled Annabeth, and as they fell through the hole in the floor.

Suddenly, Kronos's golden eyes flickered slightly, and a non-Kronos-sounding voice croaked, "A-Annabeth?"  
The eyes, flickering from blue to gold, and back again, connected with Percy's green ones. In a disbelieving voice, he whispered, "Annabeth . . . d-dead?"

Luke looked at the scythe in his hand, and dropped it onto the throne room floor. His body convulsed slightly, and parts of his body began to glow with a gold color.

"J-Jackson," Luke rasped, "your sword. Give . . . G-Give me your s-sword. T-True form c-coming. C-Can't hold him l-long."

Percy glanced at Zoë, who was mirroring his confused expression. Luke wanted his sword? For a brief moment, Percy wondered if this was some kind of trick, and that Kronos would immediately start attacking him after he forfeited his weapon. Then, Percy recalled the prophecy line: _The hero's soul, a cursed blade shall reap_. Percy tossed Luke Anaklusmos, much to the surprise of Zoë.

"Percy, what are you doing?" She whispered furiously.

Percy didn't answer, because he wasn't exactly sure what he was doing either. Luke stared at the weapon for a moment, before he flipped it into a reverse grip. Percy watched as Luke droved the sword into a small spot just under his arm. Luke/Kronos screamed with pain, and collapsed to the floor, writhing in agony. Then, it stopped. In a small pool of blood, Luke Castellan sucked in a shuddering breath.

"J-Jackson," Luke said.

Percy knelt by his side, while Zoë was still stuck on the other side of the room, staring at Luke with an awestruck expression.

Luke grabbed Percy's forearm. "T-The minor g-gods: the ch-children. M-Make sure they g-get recognized. N-Neglect fueled m-me. Make th-them see that. P-Promise me, Jackson."

Percy nodded slowly. "I promise."

As the son of Hermes let out his last breath, the gods arrived in the throne room. Hermes let out a sob and fell to his knees next to his dead son.

Percy took in a shaky breath. "We need a funeral pyre for Zane Waters and Luke Castellan. They will both be remembered as heroes."

Dionysus frowned. "But they were—"

"Heroes," Percy completed, glaring at the god of wine for being so insensitive in front of Hermes and Zeus.

When Dionysus noticed the steadfast look in Percy's eyes, he decided not to argue it further.

Zeus nodded, an upset expression present on his face. "Yes . . . they will be remembered as heroes of the second Titan War."

Percy turned and smiled at Zoë, and she returned it. Somehow, he knew everything would be okay.

Just as long as Zoë was by his side.

**Time Skip—Two Days Later**

**Percy's POV**

Percy paced in his cabin, his heart thumping erratically and anxiously. What if this went wrong? What if he messed it up? What if—

"You're going to wear a hole in the floor if you keep pacing like that," a voice said.

Percy jumped, startled, but relaxed as he felt to familiar arms wrap around him from behind. Percy tried to wipe the nervous look off his face, and then turned to face his girlfriend of about two years. He buried his face in her hair, trying to suppress the nervous feeling rising in his chest. Gods, why was this making him so upset and nervous?

Zoë seemed to sense his discomfort. "What's wrong, Percy?"

Percy gave her a forced smile. "Nothing," he said. His pocket felt heavier now that he was thinking about it. Hades, he needed to stop overthinking it.

Zoë frowned, but didn't push him. "Okay. You can tell me anything, you know."

Her voice sounded hurt. Percy seemed to snap out of his anxiety, and gave Zoë a soft kiss. "I know. I trust you more than anyone else in the world. Nothing is wrong, okay?"

Zoë nodded and she gave him a small smile. "Okay."

"You want to go for a walk on the beach?" Percy asked.

Zoë raised an eyebrow. "It's almost dinner now."

Percy shrugged. "We can skip it and eat later, right?"

"Alright," Zoë agreed, following Percy as he walked out of the cabin.

Percy slipped his hand into Zoë's lacing their fingers together. They reached the beach, and they took off their shoes so they could walk barefoot. They joked around and talked casually a while, until Percy stopped walking, causing Zoë to pause as well.

"Zoë," Percy started, "do you ever feel like there is something in your life that means much more than anything else?"

Probably sensing what—or who—he was talking about, a tinge of pink appeared on Zoë's cheeks. Before she could reply, Percy continued.

"Well, I do. And I know we have only officially been together, but I have loved you for thousands of years, Zoë. And . . . I-I—"

"Percy," Zoë said, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning against his chest, "You don't have to tell me all this. I love you, Percy. You don't have to continue."

"N-No," Percy said, "I have to. You don't understand, Zoë."

Zoë frowned. What was he insinuating?

Percy inhaled again, and softly pushed Zoë away from him, so he could look her in the eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck slightly, something he only did when he was incredibly nervous.

"Listen Zoë, I can't imagine living my life without you. I know we are physically young, but we have been alive thousands of years. I love you with all my heart, body, and soul, Zoë Nightshade," Percy stated, "So what I'm trying to say is . . ."

Percy let go of Zoë and got on one knee, before producing a small velvet box. He opened it up, revealing a beautiful diamond ring.

"Will you marry me?"

Zoë's jaw dropped, and her breath hitched. He . . . he wanted to _marry_ her? She . . . she couldn't even form coherent thoughts.

"Yes," was the only word Zoë managed to breathe out before she flung herself onto Percy, kissing him furiously. When she leaned back, he was crying.

"Percy?" She asked worriedly. What had she done?

Then she realized he was smiling. "This is the best day of my life!" He shouted gleefully.

Zoë kissed him again, and Percy then knew for sure; everything was _definitely_ going to be okay.


	16. Epilogue 1

**A/N: Epilogue! I'd like to thank all of you who have been with this story from the beginning! It means a lot to me that you all read theses stories. Writing is a fun hobby for me, and I'm glad others enjoy it as well. As I've said before, I have one other story at the moment. I will not be making a sequel, but I will be making a new story. I will write for both The Twins of Rome, and the new story. I hope you all continue to read my stories after this one ends. This has been my most successful story, and I'm glad you all got to share that with me. Thank you again! Enjoy the final installment to the story!**

**Epilogue**

Life is a road; it's filled with bumps and cracks, but it is mostly intact, overall. As for Perseus Jackson, well . . . his road was a little bumpier and cracked than most. However, in the end, he discovered something that made travelling that dilapidated road entirely worth it.

If one looked ten years in the future from where our story ended, he or she would see a dark-haired boy in a tuxedo, and a beautiful raven-haired woman travelling down the center aisle of a church, in a grand, pristine wedding dress.

If one five years past that, he or she would see the hero and heroine watched their black-haired toddler giggling excitedly as a large hellhound licked his face. Little Zane would grow up as a quarter-blood, but neither parent was particularly worried.

Fifteen years later, one would see a middle-aged couple, waving goodbye to their teenage son as he slowly disappeared behind a hill that had a large pine tree on it.

Twenty years after that, one would see an elderly couple cooing over their grandchildren.

A couple years later, one would find two, dark-haired teenagers in Elysium, enjoying eternal life.

Percy Jackson and Zoë Nightshade would serve as an example for all the heroes that came after them; the hero and heroine proved that there was, in fact, such a thing as a happy ending.

**A/N: Fin.**

** Also, I rewrote the chapter before this. It was originally an epilogue, but I made it a full chapter. Go back and read it again, please. Thanks! Check out Twins of Rome! I also might write that third story, so look for it!**


	17. Sequel

**A/N: I have lied. You all wanted it, and I said I wouldn't give it to you. And I flat out lied to your faces. **

** THIS STORY HAS A SEQUEL! It is called Champion of the Sun: Earth's Ire. I changed this story's name to Champion of the Sun: The Spartan Demigod. **

** The sequel will stay with this storyline, heading into the Heroes of Olympus storyline. I have also made some changes, such as Apollo having a much larger role in the sequel, and the immortal child of Poseidon and Amphitrite being born. Some may remember, but I did mention that they wanted to have a child earlier in this story. **

** If you liked this story, I implore you to read the sequel and leave reviews, favorite, and follow—the whole shebang. Hopefully it will exceed your expectations. I realized that I loved this story too much to let it go, so I am continuing it in the form of a sequel.**

** Please go read it! It is up now.**

** Thank you, loyal readers.**

** -Sinister**


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